International Federation Of Medical Students' Associations Research Articles

IFMSA Research Exchange: A Life-Changing Experience

Being an exchange student exhibits significant benefits beyond the educational scope, with regard to interacting with a different cultural environment, learning to accept diversity, acquiring the local language, and developing self-confidence. In this light, each year the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) provides the opportunity to approximately 15,000 medical students to carry out a clinical or research exchange in a foreign institution. In this article, I attempt to describe the unique journey I experienced in September 2022 in Argentina as a sophomore from Greece, not only in terms of educational and scientific knowledge, but also as far as cross-cultural interaction and personal growth.

Research Education in Medical Curricula: a Global Analysis.

Research is a key component of medical practice, with involvement of medical students crucial for the future of healthcare. A major limitation for medical students is the lack of exposure to research education and projects. The purpose of this study was to analyse the exposure of medical students worldwide to research education and opportunities and their satisfaction with research in their curriculum and compare results between regions. The International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), through its Research Standing Committee, developed a questionnaire to understand the current situation worldwide regarding medical students' access to research and research education in the medical curriculum. Students from all years from across the five regions of the IFMSA were eligible. A total of 619 responses representing 290 universities and 88 countries were received. Although 97.6% of medical students believed that research should be approached in their education, only 19.6% considered it was sufficiently addressed. Regarding education, only 36% of all respondents reported having specific mandatory research courses, with higher percentages in the Asia-Pacific and European countries. Even though an association between research opportunities and research participation was found, only 30% of students reported having specific places in research teams. Lastly, 39.3% had never participated in a research project. Research education is a vital component of medical education, and medical students consider its inclusion as essential for their education. However, not enough emphasis on research education is placed across the globe, with most students seeking research opportunities to train themselves outside the formal curriculum.

Youth versus pandemics: the role of future generations in the pandemic treaty

Youth versus pandemics: the role of future generations in the pandemic treaty

Student Mobility and Research Capacity: A Global Health Experience

Global South countries struggle to train and retain researchers and practitioners to address local, regional, and global health challenges. Therefore, it is necessary to train a new generation of Global South scientists adequately, aiming to develop these low- and middle-income countries’ research capacity. In this regard, international student mobility fosters collaboration among institutions and promotes global health education while building capacity. The International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) operates the largest student-run medical exchange program worldwide, providing research exchange programs since 1991. This article aims to report the experience of a Brazilian medical student, a Global South country, in Germany, a Global North country in an IFMSA research exchange. The 4-week research exchange occurred in February of 2020 at the Medical Faculty of Ruhr Universität Bochum in Bochum, Germany. The student assisted on various research projects at the institution's neurophysiology department. Educational activities also included journal clubs, lectures, workshops, and a conference. All activities were in English and under supervision. In terms of assessment, the student work was detailed in a logbook, which was shared with supervisors. During the exchange experience, the student learned through being exposed to different environments, people, and scientific methodologies. This resulted in the acquisition and improvement of research-related skills including research design and implementation, ethics, and professionalism, besides fostering intercultural learning. Additionally, this report demonstrates how student mobility fosters more collaborative environments and enhances scientific and networking possibilities.

Social accountability: Attitudes and awareness among undergraduate medical students in Morocco.

Introduction: As future health professionals, medical students should be aware of their social accountability and their role in the society. The aim was to assess the attitudes and awareness of medical students regarding the social accountability and to identify the factors determining their attitudes and possible levers for action.Methods: Online survey among undergraduate students at the medical school in 2019 (N = 2128). The data collection tool was developed based on the literature review, the principles of social accountability SR and the toolkit (The development of the Students' Toolkit on Social Accountability of Medical Schools was a collaboration between the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) and the Training for Health Equity Network (THEnet). The data were collected in December by LimeSurvey software version 1.90 and analyzed by SPSS version 16 according to the usual descriptive and bivariate. The Fisher test was used to compare two percentages and the Student t-test to compare two means on two independent samples (significance level was 0.05). The verbatims were grouped and analyzed.Results: 271 students participated (response rate = 12.7%). The mean age was 20.6±2.6 years (N = 257). The Female/Male ratio was 1.85. Only 33.5% had heard of social accountability. It was linked to “commitment to the community” in 75.1% of cases, “to be a good citizen” in 66.1% and “to be responsible for one's actions” in 56.4%. Nearly 79% thought that students did not really have a role in society and that they should focus on their studies. Being a member of an association was a factor determining the positive attitude towards the SA (82.1% versus 65.2%, p=0.031). Students believed that the school had some strategies of social accountability. The results of the verbatim emphasize the need to multiply the practices and opportunities for interaction with the social environment for students.Conclusion: The level of knowledge of the concepts by the students seems to be average. It would be necessary to look for the means to plead in favor of reinforcing our school strategies to concretize the principles of SR while training the students.

Training global surgery advocates: Strengthening the global surgery voice

Objective: To strengthen medical trainees around the world on global surgery and advocacy and help develop future generations of global surgeons, anaesthesiologists, and obstetricians.Design: Training Global Surgery Advocates (TGSA), a standardized three-day advocacy workshop developed by the International Student Surgical Network (InciSioN), was built on traditional didactic lectures, role-play exercises, small working group activities, and advocacy and diplomacy training. Assessment was done using a 5-point Likert scale for 18 components regarding the perceived familiarity, knowledge, and motivation for global surgery.Setting: The training was given in the context of the pre-general assembly of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) at Université Laval, in Quebec City, Canada.Participants: Twenty-five participants were selected to attend the workshop from a pool of 52 applicants, of which 14 medical students from 7 high-income countries and 7 low- and middle-income countries.Results: An average increase of 1.73 points across all 18 workshop components was observed among participants. After the workshop, all participants agreed or strongly agreed (4.64 average) on their motivation to train other medical students in their respective countries to become global surgery advocates.Conclusion: TGSA significantly improved participants’ knowledge and advocacy skills underlying global surgery. A mixed didactic and hands-on workshop appears to be feasible, enjoyable for participants, and effective in improving medical students involvement in the emerging field of global surgery.

Carbon-neutral medical conferences should be the norm

Carbon-neutral medical conferences should be the norm

Medical students’ involvement in health policy: current focus and trend

Abstract Background European Medical Students’ Association (EMSA) and International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) are two leading student organizations advocating for better health in Europe and the World. How student organizations support global public health policy and particularly which topics students place greater emphasis on are not documented, although it is crucial to understand their involvement and areas of interest. Methods Data on the valid policy documents of the last three years until April 2019 were retrieved from the official websites of EMSA and IFMSA. These documents were categorized using abstract submission tracks of the 12th European Public Health Conference. Results Twenty-nine policy documents were retrieved, ten of which were from EMSA and 19 from IFMSA. Fourteen of all 22 abstract submission tracks (63.6%) were covered by these policy documents. Of all policy documents, 20.7% fell under the track of ’infectious diseases, preparedness and vaccines’. Most commonly advocated topic in policy documents of IFMSA was infectious diseases and vaccines, whereas that of EMSA was healthy living and health promotion. Conclusions Medical students often take part in health policy by conveying their perspectives and calling other stakeholders to action via their policy documents. Policy documents of IFMSA were more related to global health challenges such as infectious diseases while special concerns in Europe such as healthy living and health promotion dominated EMSA’s policies. In the near future, more student advocacy work on climate change, noncommunicable diseases and primary health care would be expected in accordance with ’ten threats to global health in 2019’ announced by the World Health Organization. Key messages Medical student organizations, EMSA and IFMSA, are important stakeholders in health policy. The focus of their policy documents differs, and this trend is influenced by changing public health challenges in Europe and the World.

Barriers to Women Entering Surgical Careers: A Global Study into Medical Student Perceptions

BackgroundBarriers to female surgeons entering the field are well documented in Australia, the USA and the UK, but how generalizable these problems are to other regions remains unknown.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was developed by the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA)’s Global Surgery Working Group assessing medical students’ desire to pursue a surgical career at different stages of their medical degree. The questionnaire also included questions on students’ perceptions of their education, resources and professional life. The survey was distributed via IFMSA mailing lists, conferences and social media. Univariate analysis was performed, and statistically significant exposures were added to a multivariate model. This model was then tested in male and female medical students, before a further subset analysis by country World Bank income strata.Results639 medical students from 75 countries completed the survey. Mentorship [OR 3.42 (CI 2.29–5.12) p = 0.00], the acute element of the surgical specialties [OR 2.22 (CI 1.49–3.29) p = 0.00], academic competitiveness [OR 1.61 (CI 1.07–2.42) p = 0.02] and being from a high or upper-middle-income country (HIC and UMIC) [OR 1.56 (CI 1.021–2.369) p = 0.04] all increased likelihood to be considering a surgical career, whereas perceived access to postgraduate training [OR 0.63 (CI 0.417–0.943) p = 0.03], increased year of study [OR 0.68 (CI 0.57–0.81) p = 0.00] and perceived heavy workload [OR 0.47 (CI 0.31–0.73) p = 0.00] all decreased likelihood to consider a surgical career. Perceived quality of surgical teaching and quality of surgical services in country overall did not affect students’ decision to pursue surgery. On subset analysis, perceived poor access to postgraduate training made women 60% less likely to consider a surgical career [OR 0.381 (CI 0.217–0.671) p = 0.00], whilst not showing an effect in the men [OR 1.13 (CI 0.61–2.12) p = 0.70. Concerns about high cost of training halve the likelihood of students from low and low-middle-income countries (LICs and LMICs) considering a surgical career [OR 0.45 (CI 0.25–0.82) p = 0.00] whilst not demonstrating a significant relationship in HIC or UMIC countries. Women from LICs and LMICs were 40% less likely to consider surgical careers than men, when controlling for other factors [OR 0.59 CI (0.342–1.01 p = 0.053].ConclusionPerceived poor access to postgraduate training and heavy workload dissuade students worldwide from considering surgical careers. Postgraduate training in particular appears to be most significant for women and cost of training an additional factor in both women and men from LMICs and LICs. Mentorship remains an important and modifiable factor in influencing student’s decision to pursue surgery. Quality of surgical education showed no effect on student decision-making.

Pre-exchange training – Developing ethical and cultural competencies in medical students

Background: The International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) organizes over 15,000 international medical exchanges per year in over 100 countries. In the past, there was no standardized Pre-Departure Training (PDT) for participants. A PDT is important to protect patient safety and prepare students for their exchange.Objective: To determine whether a two-hour case-based Pre-Departure Training can increase self-reported level of comfort on competencies in basic medical ethics, cultural competence, research ethics, and recognizing the limits of one’s level of skill in medical students.Methods: In 2017, the PDT was implemented in nine countries for medical students prior to their IFMSA exchange. Participants self-evaluated their competencies in an online questionnaire before and after the PDT.Results: 234 students from 32 countries completed the pre-PDT evaluation and 104 completed both evaluations. Participants demonstrated statistically significant improvements in self-reported competencies in 16 out of 18 items including voicing lack of skill to a supervisor (p < 0.001) and recognizing personal cultural biases (p < 0.001).Conclusions: A case-based PDT can improve participants’ self-reported comfort in treating patients from different cultural backgrounds and help maintain high ethical standards abroad. The PDT was implemented at large within IFMSA in 2018.

Youth leadership in mental health: Views from EFPT and IFMSA

The world today is more challenging than ever before. Discrimination, stigma, and ever-changing lifestyles are just a few examples of elements that have a profound impact on the mental health status of our global population. Even though the burden of mental illness is well documented and increasing, mental health remains a neglected area of health worldwide.Youth Associations, like the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) and the European Federation of Psychiatric Trainees (EFPT) recognize the importance of tackling this problem, taking an active role on promoting education in our communities, tackling stigma and advocating for more action. Medical students worldwide, from Slovenia, Australia, Lebanon, Brazil, Quebec and Grenada – among at least 42 other countries, organise expansive, creative and engaging mental health projects.With particular interest we can mention the winner of the last Rex Crossley Award, attributed to a Slovenian project ‘in Reflection’: a suicide prevention project, which tackles the different factors associated with vulnerable groups through a series of workshops and campaigns that seek to destigmatize the mental health problems and offer the opportunity to high school students to get the help they need.This talk will give an insight into strengths, weaknesses and challenges faced by youth in tackling mental health, specially in the role of the IFMSA, displaying some of our most interesting and innovative projects from future mental health leaders around the world, together with the initiatives of EFPT.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Awareness and predictors of female genital mutilation/cutting among young health advocates.

The act of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is considered internationally as a violent act against girls and women and a violation of their human rights. This study sought to assess the awareness and predictors of FGM/C in young Egyptian health advocates. A cross-sectional study of 600 medical students from a total of 2,500 members of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA)-Egypt, across all Egyptian medical schools, was conducted using a previously validated online Google survey. The overall prevalence of circumcision was 14.7/100 female students, with a significantly higher prevalence in students from rural areas (25%) than in non-rural areas (10.8%, P=0.001), and in those residing in Upper (southern) Egypt (20.6%) than in Lower (northern) Egypt (8.7%, P=0.003). The students’ mean percentage score for knowledge about the negative health consequences of FGM/C was 53.50±29.07, reflecting a modest level of knowledge; only 30.5% had a good level of knowledge. The mean percentage score for the overall attitude toward discontinuation of the practice of FGM/C was 76.29±17.93, reflecting a neutral attitude; 58.7% had a favorable attitude/norms toward discontinuation of the practice. Of circumcised students, approximately one-half (46.8%) were unwilling to have their daughters circumcised, and 60% reported no harm from being circumcised. After controlling for confounders, a negative attitude toward FGM/C was significantly (P<0.001 in all cases) associated with male sex, residency in Upper Egypt, rural origin, previous circumcision, and the preclinical medical phase of education. The low level of knowledge among even future health professions in our study suggests that communication, rather than passive learning, is needed to convey the potentially negative consequences of FGM/C and to drive a change in attitude toward discontinuation of this harmful practice.

Open access, open education resources and open data in Uganda.

As a follow up to OpenCon 2014, International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) students organized a 3 day workshop Open Access, Open Education Resources and Open Data in Kampala from 15-18 December 2014. One of the aims of the workshop was to engage the Open Access movement in Uganda which encompasses the scientific community, librarians, academia, researchers and students. The IFMSA students held the workshop with the support of: Consortium for Uganda University Libraries (CUUL), The Right to Research Coalition, Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL), Makerere University, International Health Sciences University (IHSU), Pan African Medical Journal (PAMJ) and the Centre for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD). All these organizations are based or have offices in Kampala. The event culminated in a meeting with the Science and Technology Committee of Parliament of Uganda in order to receive the support of the Ugandan Members of Parliament and to make a concrete change for Open Access in the country.

Impatience of health professions students for health equity--can a new definition help?

The International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) is concerned that students are not graduating feeling energized by their social purpose. IFMSA raises a question about the role of the definition of health in limiting the comprehensiveness of the current approach to health and health care in medical and health professions education. IFMSA surveyed medical students about medical curricula. We found that a minority of surveyed students have experienced interdisciplinary teaching, with the lowest exposure in low- and middle-income countries. Medical students are clearly stating their dissatisfaction with the lack of holistic and comprehensive approach to health and health care. Our impatience for contributing to health equity is a virtue in seeking change in curricula and broader collaboration for health.

Do medical students want to learn about global health?

BackgroundOne objective of the United Nations Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health relates to ensuring a sufficiently skilled workforce. To prepare future healthcare professionals for their role in the 21st century as members of this workforce, awareness of global health is essential, but few studies have explored student perspectives on such education. The main objectives of this study were to establish the views of medical students on learning about women's and children's health in low-income countries, to identify the nature and extent of learning already experienced, and to assess the demand for such learning.DesignA questionnaire survey was conducted at three meetings of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA). Questionnaires were distributed to 500 participants from 75 countries and 336 medical schools, and 492 usable questionnaires were returned. Data were analysed using SPSS Version 20 and statistical analysis was undertaken using Fisher's exact test.ResultsThere were 492 questionnaires included in the analysis. Forty-eight per cent of participants were from low–middle income countries and 52% were from high-income countries. Less than half (43%) of the respondents had received some teaching on women's and children's health in low-income countries. Teaching received was primarily (96%) through lectures in the second year of study. Ninety-one per cent of respondents thought such teaching would be important and stated that group work (66%) would be the preferred method. In total, only 14% thought they had received sufficient teaching on global health and on women's and children's health in low-income countries.ConclusionsThis study has revealed a high demand among medical students for global health teaching, particularly on women's and children's health in low-income countries. The timing and methods of existing teaching on these topics does not match that desired by medical students. To help address this gap, a collaborative approach is proposed which includes students’ views in the processes for revitalising medical curricula to meet the needs of the 21st century.

Students' perspective on rooting out causes of health injustice

This year, the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA), which represents 1·2 million medical students worldwide, made health inequities and action on social determinants of health a key policy focus. 1 International Federation of Medical Students' AssociationsPolicy statement on health inequity and the social determinants of health. Jakarta, Indonesia, 60th March General Assembly of the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations. http://www.ifmsa.orgDate: March, 2011 Google Scholar A global campaign, Root Out, Reach Out, 2 Root OutReach OutInternational Federation of Medical Students' Association's week of global action on social determinants of health. http://root-out.org Google Scholar has been organised to coincide with the 2011 World Conference on Social Determinants of Health. We believe that the final report 3 Commission on Social Determinants of HealthClosing the gap in a generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health. World Health Organization, Geneva2008 Google Scholar of WHO's Commission on Social Determinants of Health should have provided a watershed moment in the worldwide movement towards achieving global health justice. Although some governments have heeded the report's recommendations, the voice of the Commission has gone largely unheard because of a lack of both political commitment and effective policy making capacity. Unless addressed, these challenges have the potential to undermine any outcomes of the World Conference on Social Determinants of Health.

Medicine, Medsin, and global health

Improving health in an increasingly globalised world demands a global perspective and an internationally coordinated response. For the response to be sustainable future leaders in health must be educated and empowered. Health-care students throughout the world respond to this challenge through the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA) and the UK member organisation Medsin. These organisations provide an effective network for students to learn about and respond to global health issues. A key event in the Medsin calendar is the annual global health conference. This years was hosted by the Guys Kings and St Thomas Medsin branch (in London) at the end of March. Entitled Poverty and Health in the New Millennium it was the biggest conference in Medsins history bringing together over 400 predominantly medical and health-care students for a stimulating programme of plenaries workshops and poster presentations by students. (excerpt)

Go for it

The Student BMJ, in partnership with the IFMSA, has launched the new International Experiences section on Student BMJ.com, where students can post a report of their elective and IFMSA exchange experiences. Helen Gordon and Se Eun Jung explain what an IFMSA professional exchange is all about and what it takes to set up the programme in your medical school Every year nearly 7000 medical students escape from the medical school they know so well to learn something new, which they cannot experience at home-a different healthcare system and a different life as a medical student. This programme is organised for students by students and has run successfully since 1951 and 6600 people world wide participated last year. The exchanges are facilitated and organised through the Standing Committee on Professional Exchanges (SCOPE), which could be considered the backbone of the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA). Its aim is to promote and strengthen international understanding of medical students through international exchanges. These exchanges offer students a unique educational and cultural experience, and are an interesting addition to the traditional medical curriculum. The experience broadens students' knowledge of medical and social conditions in another country. Each country has a national member organisation (NMO) that is affiliated to the IFMSA. For example, the United Kingdom's NMO is called Medsin-UK. The NMOs are ultimately responsible for the exchanges in their country and they oversee and facilitate the exchange process through the election of at least one national exchange officer, who signs contracts with other countries and looks after every exchange that takes place in their country. They also encourage new faculties to set up exchanges and train the local exchange officers. Each local committee at the respective medical school has local exchange officers, who organise the exchanges at local level. They explain the …

Medics worldwide: news and opportunities from the IFMSA

Students contribute to tsunami relief - As news of the devastation in Asia broke, students from the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) responded as best they could, even if it was just to send expressions of concern and solidarity to their colleagues in affected areas. Our member organisation in Indonesia has been collecting money and materials, and medical students all over the world have taken part in collections organised by disaster relief organisations in their own countries. Contact norp_cimsa@yahoo.com for more information on the Indonesian project. Algerian medical students nominated for world prize - The Algerian medical students' association, “Le Souk,” has been nominated for the prize of …