TY - JOUR
T1 - An academic career in global surgery
T2 - a position paper from the Society of University Surgeons Committee on Academic Global Surgery
AU - Krishnaswami, Sanjay
AU - Stephens, Caroline Q.
AU - Yang, George P.
AU - Nwomeh, Benedict C.
AU - Swaroop, Mamta
AU - Nadler, Evan P.
AU - Holterman, Ai Xuan
AU - Simeone, Diane M.
AU - Kingham, T. Peter
AU - Merchant, Nipun
AU - Orloff, Susan L.
N1 - Funding Information:
Additional training, including advanced degrees in global health, could help aspiring academic global surgeons establish credibility and more effectively create a niche in the field. Fortunately, support for such education has increased significantly over the last decade. The National Institutes of Health and the Fogarty International Center recently announced the distribution of a $20 million award to 5 university consortiums to support the training of researchers in global health. 49 These awards provide a year of mentored research and are available to residents, fellows, and junior faculty in all health care disciplines, including surgery. Most other national nongovernmental opportunities for training in global surgery are currently centered on surgical residents. Examples of these include the Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellowship and the Yale/Stanford Johnson & Johnson Global Health Scholars Program. The Paul Farmer Global Surgery Fellowship, sponsored by the Harvard system and Partners in Health, is a competitive, partially funded, application-based experience open to surgical residents and fellows. It consists of a 12- to 24-month fellowship divided between global surgery research and international surgical care. 50 The Yale/Stanford Johnson & Johnson Global Health Scholars Program, although not a research training initiative, involves short-term participation in ongoing projects aimed at building educational capacity within LMIC partners. 51 Although traditionally geared toward residents in internal medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine, and other primary care specialties, the recognition of the significant BSD in LMICs has created an impetus to include surgical trainees.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017
PY - 2018/4
Y1 - 2018/4
N2 - In recent years, as the high burden of surgical disease and poor access to surgical care in low- and middle-income countries have gained recognition as major public health problems, interest in global health has surged among surgical trainees and faculty. Traditionally, clinical volunteerism was at the forefront of the high-income country response to the significant burden of surgical disease in low- and middle-income countries. However, sustainable strategies for providing surgical care in low- and middle-income countries increasingly depend on bilateral clinical, research, and education collaborations to ensure effective resource allocation and contextual relevance. Academic global surgery creates avenues for interested surgeons to combine scholarship and education with their clinical global surgery passions through incorporation of basic/translational, education, clinical outcomes, or health services research with global surgery. Training in global health, either within residency or through advanced degrees, can provide the necessary skills to develop and sustain such initiatives. We further propose that creating cross-continental, bidirectional collaborations can maximize funding opportunities. Academic institutions are uniquely positioned to lead longitudinal and, importantly, sustainable global surgery efforts. However, for the individual global surgeon, the career path forward may be unclear. This paper reviews the development of academic global surgery, delineates the framework and factors critical to training global surgeons, and proposes models for establishing an academic career in this field. Overall, with determination, the academic global surgeon will not only carve out a niche of expertise but will define this critical field for future generations.
AB - In recent years, as the high burden of surgical disease and poor access to surgical care in low- and middle-income countries have gained recognition as major public health problems, interest in global health has surged among surgical trainees and faculty. Traditionally, clinical volunteerism was at the forefront of the high-income country response to the significant burden of surgical disease in low- and middle-income countries. However, sustainable strategies for providing surgical care in low- and middle-income countries increasingly depend on bilateral clinical, research, and education collaborations to ensure effective resource allocation and contextual relevance. Academic global surgery creates avenues for interested surgeons to combine scholarship and education with their clinical global surgery passions through incorporation of basic/translational, education, clinical outcomes, or health services research with global surgery. Training in global health, either within residency or through advanced degrees, can provide the necessary skills to develop and sustain such initiatives. We further propose that creating cross-continental, bidirectional collaborations can maximize funding opportunities. Academic institutions are uniquely positioned to lead longitudinal and, importantly, sustainable global surgery efforts. However, for the individual global surgeon, the career path forward may be unclear. This paper reviews the development of academic global surgery, delineates the framework and factors critical to training global surgeons, and proposes models for establishing an academic career in this field. Overall, with determination, the academic global surgeon will not only carve out a niche of expertise but will define this critical field for future generations.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.surg.2017.10.019
DO - 10.1016/j.surg.2017.10.019
M3 - Review article
C2 - 29254606
AN - SCOPUS:85039433259
VL - 163
SP - 954
EP - 960
JO - Surgery
JF - Surgery
SN - 0039-6060
IS - 4
ER -