Highlights
- •Most health professionals do not know the meaning of global surgery.
- •Younger professionals are more likely to provide an accurate description of global surgery.
- •Pathways to become an academic global surgeon are not well understood by healthcare workers.
- •Further research on how to become a successful academic global surgeon is needed.
Abstract
Background
Global surgery has emerged as a new field within academic surgery. Despite attempts
to provide a common definition, it is unclear whether health professionals understand
what is meant by the term “global surgery.” This study aims to characterize current
understanding of global surgery among healthcare workers.
Methods
One hundred medical students, residents, physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals
were interviewed on their perceptions of global surgery using a six-question qualitative
survey. Responses were coded and analyzed for common themes.
Results
Sixty-one percent of participants did not know the meaning of global surgery. Those
under age 40 were more likely to relay an accurate definition. Of participants with
knowledge of global surgery, 44% had previous exposure to global health and 85% expressed
interest in global health or surgery.
Conclusions
Although often used in academic surgical settings, the term “global surgery” is not
well-understood among health professionals. There is no clear consensus on what it
means to be a global surgeon or what constitutes a successful career in global surgery.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 11, 2019
Accepted:
November 10,
2019
Received in revised form:
October 11,
2019
Received:
June 25,
2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
