LAUSR

Strengthening the workforce in low-resource countries is one approach promoted by the WHO to develop global health systems.1 Cooperation between countries in healthcare workforce education is an important element to this, which can take the form of technical assistance in policy, quality and regulation, or through more practical efforts to build capacity, deliver content and enhance access. Such practical attempts are often hindered by a lack of trained educators with appropriate subject matter expertise or limited resources to support potential deployment. While a number of initiatives have been trialled to address this,2 the potential role of visiting medical students has been largely overlooked. Medical student influence and participation within the global health sphere are growing. Several student-led groups have emerged in recent years that have significantly influenced the development and advocacy for health systems internationally, such as Students for Global Health (www.studentsforglobalhealth.org) and the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (www.ifmsa.org). However, medical student involvement in health worker education and health system strengthening has not previously been fully considered. Over 6000 elective students each year travel to low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) from the UK alone, yet many of these electives remain a largely unsupervised and unsupported introduction into global health.3 Medical electives in low-resource settings have previously drawn criticism, bemoaned for their role in ‘medical tourism’, as students may provide …