Pre-departure Training for Healthcare Students Going Abroad: Impact on Preparedness

• Published in: Annals of global health Vol. 84; no. 4; pp. 683 - 691
• Main Authors: Kironji, A. Gatebe, Cox, Jacob T., Edwardson, Jill, Moran, Dane, Aluri, James, Carroll, Bryn, Chen, Chi Chiung Grace
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Ubiquity Press 05.11.2018; Levy Library Press
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Cross-Sectional Studies; Family income; Female; Global health; Humans; International Educational Exchange; Leadership; Learning; Male; Medical students; Middle Aged; Nursing; Nursing education; Nursing schools; Original Research; Personal health; Professional Competence - standards; Professions; Public health; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Safety; Schools; Skills; Students; Students, Medical - psychology; Students, Nursing - psychology; Study abroad; Teaching - organization & administration; Teaching methods; Training; Travel; Young Adult; Canada; United States > US
• ISSN: 2214-9996; 2214-9996
• DOI: 10.29024/aogh.2378

Many medical and nursing schools offer opportunities for students to participate in global health experiences abroad, but little is known about the efficacy of pre-departure training in preparing students for these experiences. The primary aim was to identify characteristics of pre-departure training associated with participants' reporting a high level of preparedness for their global health experiences. Secondary objectives included identifying students' preferred subjects of study and teaching modalities for pre-departure training. A questionnaire was distributed to all medical and nursing students at our institution from 2013 to 2015. Questions addressed prior global health experiences and pre-departure training, preferences for pre-departure training, and demographic information. Findings: Of 517 respondents, 55% reported having a prior global health experience abroad, 77% of whom felt prepared for their experience. Fifty-three percent received pre-departure training. Simply receiving pre-departure training was not associated with perceived preparedness, but pre-departure training in the following learning domains was: travel safety, personal health, clinical skills, cultural awareness, and leadership. Perceiving pre-departure training as useful was also independently associated with self-reported preparedness. Students' preferred instruction methods included discussion, lecture, and simulation, and their most desired subjects of study were travel safety (81%), cultural skills (87%), and personal health (82%). Incorporating travel safety, personal health, clinical skills, cultural awareness, and/or leadership into pre-departure training may increase students' preparedness for global health experiences. Student perceptions of the usefulness of pre-departure training is also associated with self-reported preparedness, suggesting a possible "buy-in" effect.