LAUSR

We set up a makeshift clinic in rural Honduras, and a line of patients now stretches down the street. There are two physicians, separated by a hanging tarp in a small room, trying to see every patient. A nurse looks at me, directing me to another area to begin seeing patients. As a medical student between my first and second year of training, I am terrified, but try to reassure myselfdhaving some medical knowledge is better than none, right? We are living in a time when global health experiences have dramatically increased in popularity for American medical students and residents. Estimates are that 25%-38% of medical students and 40%-68% of residents have a global experience during their training. Although there have been many papers focusing on the ethical concerns involved in conducting research in developing nations, much less attention has been given to the ethical considerations surrounding education and service experiences for learners in those settings. There are many ethical concerns in sending trainees abroad, but no formal guidelines to address them. We have identified 4 major challenges based on review of literature and experiences with our residency’s global health track. In this Viewpoint, we discuss these concerns and propose solutions to make global experiences more beneficial for both the learners and the host communities.