ORIGINAL ARTICLEEight Years of the Mayo International Health Program: What an International Elective Adds to Resident Education
Section snippets
Overview of the Program
The MIHP was developed in 2001 as a means to facilitate resident involvement in global health in the context of elective training in graduate medical education programs (for a more detailed overview of the program, see the MIHP Web site8). Pilot funding was originally provided by the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education in cooperation with the Mayo Fellows Association, a peer representation group for all Mayo trainees. With the exception of the first 2 years of operation, the program has
RESULTS
From its inception in 2001 through July 31, 2008, 162 residents have travelled to 43 different countries on 5 continents, caring for over 40,000 patients worldwide (Figure). Residents from 3 training facilities (Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Florida, and Minnesota) and from 20 specialties have participated in the MIHP, in both inpatient and outpatient settings (Table 1).
DISCUSSION
To our knowledge, our study is the first that has used systematic qualitative methods to evaluate residents' opinions about the benefits of international experiences during graduate medical education. The qualitative methodology allowed us to evaluate responses to open-ended questions, leading to a broad variety of themes and a deeper understanding of previously published numerical survey data on residents' international elective experiences.4, 5 Previous studies have addressed the effects of
DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE STUDIES
A number of important research questions remain regarding international health experiences in resident medical education: Are residents who have participated in such programs more comfortable in caring for people of different ethnic backgrounds? Are they more likely than their counterparts to care for the underserved after their training is complete? Are they happier? Are these residents less likely to order unnecessary diagnostic tests and/or invasive studies? Do they have common backgrounds
CONCLUSION
International health electives are an important part of residency education. These rotations have provided many educational and personal benefits to residents in many specialties, offering a fresh perspective on health care delivery and enhancing clinical and medical decision-making skills. The MIHP has provided financial and administrative support to residents, facilitating resident participation in these electives and furthering the overall goals of resident education. The benefits of
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Ms Michelle L. Pederson, Mayo International Health Program Coordinator, for her assistance in gathering the data.
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This work was supported in part by the Mayo Clinic Internal Medicine Residency Office of Educational Innovations as part of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Educational Innovations Project.