Abstract
Although many health issues transcend national boundaries and require international co-operation, global health is rarely an integral part of the medical curriculum. While medical schools have a social responsibility to train healthcare professionals to serve local communities, the internationalisation of medical education (e.g. international medical students, export of medical curricula or medical schools) makes it increasingly difficult to define it as 'local'. It is therefore necessary to produce practitioners who can practice medicine in an ever-changing and unpredictable world. These practitioners must be clinically and culturally competent as well as able to use their global knowledge and experience to improve health and well-being, irrespective of where they eventually practice medicine. Global health practitioners are tomorrow's leaders, change agents and members of effective multiprofessional teams and so need to be aware of the environmental, cultural, social and political factors that impact on health, serving as advocates of people's rights to access resources, education and healthcare. This article addresses some of the difficulties of developing global health practitioners, offering suggestions for a global health curriculum. It also acknowledges that creating a global health practitioner requires international collaboration and shared resources and practices and places the onus of social accountability on academic leaders.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 626-631 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Medical Teacher |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2011 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Developing a global health practitioner: Time to act? / McKimm, Judy; McLean, Michelle.
In: Medical Teacher, Vol. 33, No. 8, 2011, p. 626-631.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Developing a global health practitioner: Time to act?
AU - McKimm, Judy
AU - McLean, Michelle
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - Although many health issues transcend national boundaries and require international co-operation, global health is rarely an integral part of the medical curriculum. While medical schools have a social responsibility to train healthcare professionals to serve local communities, the internationalisation of medical education (e.g. international medical students, export of medical curricula or medical schools) makes it increasingly difficult to define it as 'local'. It is therefore necessary to produce practitioners who can practice medicine in an ever-changing and unpredictable world. These practitioners must be clinically and culturally competent as well as able to use their global knowledge and experience to improve health and well-being, irrespective of where they eventually practice medicine. Global health practitioners are tomorrow's leaders, change agents and members of effective multiprofessional teams and so need to be aware of the environmental, cultural, social and political factors that impact on health, serving as advocates of people's rights to access resources, education and healthcare. This article addresses some of the difficulties of developing global health practitioners, offering suggestions for a global health curriculum. It also acknowledges that creating a global health practitioner requires international collaboration and shared resources and practices and places the onus of social accountability on academic leaders.
AB - Although many health issues transcend national boundaries and require international co-operation, global health is rarely an integral part of the medical curriculum. While medical schools have a social responsibility to train healthcare professionals to serve local communities, the internationalisation of medical education (e.g. international medical students, export of medical curricula or medical schools) makes it increasingly difficult to define it as 'local'. It is therefore necessary to produce practitioners who can practice medicine in an ever-changing and unpredictable world. These practitioners must be clinically and culturally competent as well as able to use their global knowledge and experience to improve health and well-being, irrespective of where they eventually practice medicine. Global health practitioners are tomorrow's leaders, change agents and members of effective multiprofessional teams and so need to be aware of the environmental, cultural, social and political factors that impact on health, serving as advocates of people's rights to access resources, education and healthcare. This article addresses some of the difficulties of developing global health practitioners, offering suggestions for a global health curriculum. It also acknowledges that creating a global health practitioner requires international collaboration and shared resources and practices and places the onus of social accountability on academic leaders.
U2 - 10.3109/0142159X.2011.590245
DO - 10.3109/0142159X.2011.590245
M3 - Article
VL - 33
SP - 626
EP - 631
JO - Medical Teacher
JF - Medical Teacher
SN - 0142-159X
IS - 8
ER -