ArticleBMC medical education2023
International medical electives in Sub-Saharan Africa: experiences from a 19-year NGO-driven initiative.
Article in BMC medical education, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Advancing Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice: outcomes of the AFREhealth-FAIMER Student Elective Exchange Program in Health Professions Education in Africa.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Benefits and Drawbacks of International Medical Elective Databases in Abroad Elective Research: A Narrative Review.Advances in medical education and practice · 2024Review
- An in-Depth Examination of the Characteristics of Pre-Hospital Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training Among Emergency Medicine Residents in Laos as Part of an Overseas Elective Rotation.Advances in medical education and practice · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMainstream medical education remains largely focused on national health issues. Therefore, in order to expose medical students to international health issues, it is beneficial to facilitate international medical electives.
methodsThis article describes the Junior Project Officer (JPO) program, a medical experience based on clinical electives in Sub-Saharan Africa, supported by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO). Residents spend 6 months as part of a multidisciplinary medical team in Africa. A post-elective online survey was administered to all who participated in the program in the period 2002-2020. The questionnaire comprised three domains: (i) general and pre-departure information; (ii) the experience; (iii) the post-experience.
resultsQuestionnaires were received from 157/241 subjects, a response rate of 65%. The most common specialties were pediatrics, public health, and internal medicine. Of all, 87% carried out clinical activities; 45% also worked in the management of health services, and 60% carried out research activities. About 64% reported difficulties linked to a lack of equipment, different ways of working (57%), and exposure to situations for which they did not feel technically prepared (56%). In 25% of cases, residents reported that their school's attitude to their doing the elective was not positive: upon their return, over 50% felt that their experience was not sufficiently valued by their institution. Respondents considered the experience important for professional and personal growth (93% and 80% respectively ). Forty-two participants (27%) reported that the experience had a significant impact on their future career choices.
conclusionDespite the difficulties encountered, a well-structured experience in international health can have a positive impact on residents, professionally and personally. Key factors behind the positive outcomes are the substantial length (6 months) of the experience, and the long term working relationships between the sending and receiving institutions. The schools in Italy that provide the students for the electives need to see more evidence that international electives are worth the investment.
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