ResidentsThe opportunity to participate in a volunteer elective during a surgical residency can provide tremendous insight into issues as varied as health policy, cultural and economic influences on health care, as well as potential career paths. Broader exposure to pathology and surgical approaches can be acquired. We aim to provide information relevant to surgical residents interested in participation in both domestic and international surgical volunteerism opportunities via this resource center.
Please feel free to provide any suggestions on appropriate volunteerism resources for surgical residents via the feedback form found under the heading "Contact Us.”
Please note that the following links are provided as a courtesy to those with an interest in humanitarian outreach. Unless otherwise specified, the American College of Surgeons is not affiliated with these organizations, and not responsible for the content of their websites.
General Resources
Global Health Education Consortium (GHEC) A non-profit organization of health professionals, educators and institutions dedicated to global health education. Through its focus on education, GHEC provides dedicated global health leadership to educate, train and mentor health care students, faculty, professionals and practitioners to address global health challenges.
University Coalitions for Global Health UCGH brings together leaders from global health-focused, student-serving organizations to harmonize efforts and collaborate on events and projects.
Checklist for Resident Volunteers The Canadian Association of General Surgeons' International Surgery Committee has compiled a checklist for residents going on overseas electives or medical missions, with tips on academic and regulatory issues, personal and medical considerations, and suggestions on what to do after you return.
Educational Resources
Residency Programs
Brown Medical School Department of Surgery The goal of the Brown Medical School Department of Surgery is to foster an environment for the optimal education of residents and medical students and to prepare them to assume their roles in scientific and medical communities. The Department offers the Africa/Tenwek Hospital surgical elective to one or two third-year residents annually. More information about the elective is available here or by contacting Mrs. Pamela Richardson in the Surgical Education Office at (401) 444-5180. The article "An International Volunteer Program for General Surgery
Residents at
Brown Medical School: The Tenwek Hospital Africa Experience" discusses the program in detail.
Hubert-Yeargan Center for Global Health at Duke University Medical Center Participants in the Global Health Residency Program will learn firsthand how to effect systemic change for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people through comprehensive advanced training, education, and fieldwork in a resource-poor setting. The 32-credit curriculum includes five core courses, a field experience to apply learned research methods, and a research-based scholarly thesis. The program includes one to two rotations totaling nine-months in a resource-poor setting. During the field experience, trainees will have opportunity to apply newly acquired skills in both a clinical and research capacity while developing leadership skills in community coalition building, program development, and cultural competency. For more information, contact Cecelia Pezdek at 919-668-5976 or cecelia.pezdek@duke.edu.
Global Health Institutes and Departments
Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School
Johns Hopkins University Center for Global Health The mission of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Global Health is to facilitate and focus the extensive expertise and resources of the Johns Hopkins institutions together with global collaborators to effectively address and ameliorate the world's most pressing health issues. Founded in May of 2006 to lead the University in developing solutions to these health challenges, the Center pulls together Hopkins' extensive knowledge base to develop sustainable solutions that transcend the borders preventing good health throughout the world — borders between disciplines, languages, countries, governments, funding streams, drug availability, education, health care, and more.
Oregon Health and Science University Global Health Center The Global Health Center facilitates OHSU collaboration with the global health community to promote quality and equity in healthcare worldwide. Through the Global Health Center, OHSU networks with domestic and international communities and is developing programs for students, faculty, staff and partners that will promote global health awareness, research, education and advocacy.
University of California, San Francisco Global Health Sciences UCSF Global Health Sciences (GHS) is dedicated to improving health and reducing the burden of disease in the world's most vulnerable populations. It integrates UCSF expertise in all of the health, social, and biological sciences, and focuses that expertise on pressing issues in global health. GHS works with partners in countries throughout the world to achieve these aims. Established in 2003 to create a vision and provide institutional leadership for global health at UCSF, its creation underscores UCSF's commitment to global health and to the care of vulnerable populations at home and throughout the world.
Center for Global Health at the University of Michigan The Center for Global Health builds on the University of Michigan's legacy of tackling critical health issues through research and action by generating novel approaches and partnerships that improve health and redress pressing health inequalities. Through its research, training, and service activities the Center is centrally concerned with work that aims to promote global health equity. The Center offers a Certificate in Global Health, which entails a minimum of 11 credits of coursework focusing on public health issues resulting from the globalization of the world's economies, cultures, production systems, transnational policies, and increasingly shared environments.
University of Utah Global Health Alliance The University of Utah Global Health Alliance (UUGHA) is a network of faculty, students and staff that provides medical humanitarian education and outreach for sustainable health care in targeted countries. These programs underscore principles of training, teaching and support models that have proven to be the most effective approach to international help. Since 2003, over 300 people from the University of Utah School of Medicine and Health Sciences have participated in medical exchanges. The goal is to engage local hospitals, universities and communities as collaborators to identify priority needs, local resources and applicable research; then, determine a course of action.
University of Washington Department of Global Health The Mission of the University of Washington's Department of Global Health is to close the gap between the world's 1 billion people who experience relatively good health and the 5 billion who experience much poorer quality of health, accomplishing this through a collaboration among the University's 17 schools and colleges, other Seattle-based institutions, and partners in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The goal of the Department is to address the causes of, and help provide solutions for, disparities in health around the globe, and to enable international partners to achieve sustainable and independent control of their global health programs.
Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health
Global Health Initiatives at the Yale School of Public Health The fundamental goal of Global Health Initiatives at Yale School of Public Health is to strengthen the capacity of countries and communities to ensure equity in health for all of their citizens. This is accomplished with a strong commitment to collaborative and participatory approaches, and with particular attention toward health problems that disproportionately affect higher-risk, resource-limited populations. Global Health Initiatives at YSPH seeks to contribute to an inclusive and collaborative global community of researchers and practitioners committed to improving health, to contribute to a strong evidence base for improving health outcomes globally, and to develop, implement and evaluate initiatives that are linked to sustained benefits for affected populations
Fellowships and Scholars Programs
Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellowship
Yale / Johnson and Johnson Physician Scholars in International Health Program Annually selects up to 15 physician-in-training scholars from institutions outside of Yale during their residency for 4-8 week rotations in overseas sites.
Online Courses and Resources
Global Health Education Consortium: Library of Resources GHEC provides articles and presentations for students and faculty on global health and education.
Medical Peace Work has created an online course to offer information to health professionals on how they can become engaged in peace work through the practice of medicine. Medical Peace Work is a transnational partnership of health professionals coordinated by the Centre for International Health at the University of Tromsø in Norway.
Unite for Sight Global Health University
University of British Columbia "Surgical Care in International Health" Course
Financial Resources
Listed below are Web sites that provide information on possible financial resources for international health opportunities. While most are compiled for medical students, there is considerable overlap for residents, as well.
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Recommended fellowship programs and funding information.
A compilation of possible sources of financial support for international health opportunities.
University of Washington, International Health Group Provides information on funding sources for international opportunities.
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Center for Global Health Provides information on funding sources for international opportunities.
Articles and News
The American Medical Student Association's online international health journal featuring research articles, editorials, personal accounts, and other materials from medical students, practicing physicians, and others working on global health issues.
From the Global Health Council, Global Health TV is essentially a "YouTube" for international health which enables you to view and share the work being done and provides an educational forum about health issues faced by communities around the world. Global Health in General Surgery Residency: A National Survey
Journal of the American College of Surgeons, February 2009, Volume 208, Issue 2, pp 304-312. Anathea C. Powell, Kathleen Casey, David J. Liewehr, Awori Hayanga, Ted A. James, Gregory S. Cherr
Global Health Training in Pediatric Residency Programs
An International Volunteer Program for General Surgery Residents at Brown Medical School: The Tenwek Hospital Africa Experience
Academic Medicine, February 2008
A survey of Canadian general surgery residents' interest in international surgery
Using CANMEDS to guide international electives: an enriching experience in Uganda defined for a Canadian surgery resident
Ethical Considerations for Short-Term Experiences by Trainees in Global Health JAMA, 2008, Volume 300, Issue 12, pp 1456-1458 John A. Crump, MB, ChB, DTM&H; Jeremy Sugarman, MD, MPH, MA
International Experience, Electives, and Volunteerism in Surgical Training: A Survey of Resident Interest
Volunteerism in General Surgical Residency: Fostering Sustainable Global Academic Partnerships
Learning without borders: Medical students take on the world "Medical schools are offering overseas clerkships and students are eager to go." Myrle Croasdale, AMNews, March 12, 2007, published on amednews.com
The New Medical "Missionaries" - Grooming the Next Generation of Global Health Workers
Surgery in Developing Countries: Essential Training in Residency
Resident education on medical mission trips
International surgery: definition, principles and Canadian practice
Incorporating surgical volunteerism into your future practice
VISTA Staffing Solutions is a locum tenens agency with a strong commitment to the needs of medical volunteers. http://www.vistastaff.com/. Locum tenens is a consideration for those who are looking for greater flexibility that may be needed with engaging in volunteer outreach. Agencies that provided international volunteer opportunities for residents:
|
|
 |