International Survey of Medical Students Exposure to Relevant Global Surgery (ISOMERS): A Cross-Sectional Study

Incision Collaborative

doi:10.1007/s00268-022-06440-0

Abstract

BackgroundThe principles of global surgery should be taught as a part of the core curriculum in medical schools. The need for medical students to be familiar with the topic is increasing in acceptance. There is, however, a paucity of data on how medical students are exposed to global surgery. This study aims to evaluate exposure of medical students to global surgery, awareness of the key messages of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, global surgery career aspirations and barriers to said aspirations.MethodsISOMERS was a multi-centre, online, cross-sectional survey of final year medical students globally. The questionnaire utilised a combination of Likert-scale, multiple-choice, and free text questions.ResultsIn this study, 1593 final year medical students from 144 medical schools in 20 countries participated. The majority (n = 869/1496, 58.1%) believed global surgery to be relevant, despite 17.7% (n = 271/1535) having any exposure to global surgery. Most participants (n = 1187/1476, 80.4%) wanted additional resources on global surgery. Difficulty in providing appropriate care for patients living abroad (n = 854/1242, 68.8%) was the most common perceived barrier to a career in global surgery.ConclusionsParticipants believed global surgery was a relevant topic for medical students and wanted additional resources that they could access on global surgery. It is critical for medical students to become aware that global surgery is a field that aims to address inequity in surgical care not just internationally, but nationally and locally as well.

Highlights

In 2015, the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery released a landmark report highlighting a health disparity faced by over five billion people in the world: a lack of access to safe, timely, and affordable surgical care [1]
1 https://incisionetwork.org/, Geneva, Switzerland providing the impetus for the formation of dynamic collaborations between high-income countries (HICs) and low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) [6] with global surgery—‘‘an area of study, research, practice and advocacy that seeks to improve health outcomes and achieve health equity for all people who need surgical and anaesthesia care’’ [1]—at the heart of the partnerships
A total of 1593 final year medical students from 144 medical schools participated in the ISOMERS study (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

In 2015, the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery released a landmark report highlighting a health disparity faced by over five billion people in the world: a lack of access to safe, timely, and affordable surgical care [1]. There have been increasing calls to bolster medical students’ exposure to global surgery from educational organisations [7], trainees [8], and students [9]. Increasing future healthcare practitioner’s understanding, interest, and participation in global surgery is likely to be a critical step towards ensuring global surgical workforce needs are met. This study aims to evaluate exposure of medical students to global surgery, awareness of the key messages of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, global surgery career aspirations and barriers to said aspirations. Results In this study, 1593 final year medical students from 144 medical schools in 20 countries participated.

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