255614 Physician specialty choice and global health expertise: A framework

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 12:30 PM - 12:48 PM

Sae-Rom Chae, MD, MPH , Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Dept., University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Daniel Rhee, MD, MPH , Department of Surgery, Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI
Henry Lin, MD , Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Memorial Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Lawrence Loh, MD, MPH , Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Purpose: Global-health minded medical trainees often pursue experiences relevant to their future specialty. Our framework links specific specialties to global health content areas by examining trends in publications and project work.

Data used: Global health literature (scholarly and grey) and websites from prominent organizations/institutions.

Methods: We searched the above sources for global health literature, linking these to physician specialties. Relevant literature was coded by specialty and content area. Top global health content areas by specialty were identified, together with noted trends and exceptions. Specialties reviewed included pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, selected surgical and internal medicine subspecialties, psychiatry, public health/preventive medicine, physical medicine/rehabilitation, emergency medicine, family medicine/general practice, and combination programs.

Major results: All specialties demonstrated involvement in clinical and research-based global health content areas. Participation ranged from a relatively broad variety of areas (e.g pediatrics and immunizations, nutrition, healthy childhood development) to a narrower scope (e.g. ophthalmology and cataract surgery.) Certain specialties were leaders in specific areas (e.g. obstetrics/gynecology and maternal/child health), with others changing scope to address shifting priorities (e.g. surgeons selecting non-surgical projects to obtain funding). We also identified multidisciplinary content areas (e.g. infant and child nutrition, addressed by family medicine, pediatrics, and public health.)

Recommendations: Linking specific specialty expertise to global health content areas provides guidance to young physicians and trainees interested in using their skills globally. In areas led by their specialty, global health practitioners can pursue excellence and innovation abroad by effectively addressing diverse and complex needs and fostering partnerships in multidisciplinary content areas.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Advocacy for health and health education
Clinical medicine applied in public health
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Identify top global health content areas for various physician specialties, as determined by publications and areas of program focus Evaluate which specific physician specialty knowledge would be most useful in a defined area of global health work Analyze potential global health training opportunities by specialty for students, interns, and resident physicians

Keywords: International Health, Professional Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a resident physician with a graduate degree in public health with experience in global health practice, and I was involved in the concept development, data gathering, preparation and drafting of the research presented.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3243.0: Global Health Education 3: GH in Medical Education