Letters
Global health
Volume 199 - Issue 2

Global health training and postgraduate medical education in Australia: the case for greater integration

Authors:  Rob D Mitchell, Jennifer C Jamieson, Jake Parker, Fred B Hersch, Zoe Wainer and A Rob Moodie

Med J Aust 2013; 199 (2): 102. || doi: 10.5694/mja13.10553
Published online: 22 July 2013
In reply: We thank Walsh for highlighting that sustainability is a critical challenge in global health training (GHT) programs and that technology is creating new options for international engagement. He has also articulated a vision of qualified specialists taking a greater role in the delivery of clinical education in resource-poor settings. We share this aspiration. One of the end points of GHT is a lifelong commitment ...
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In reply: We thank Walsh for highlighting that sustainability is a critical challenge in global health training (GHT) programs and that technology is creating new options for international engagement. He has also articulated a vision of qualified specialists taking a greater role in the delivery of clinical education in resource-poor settings. We share this aspiration.

One of the end points of GHT is a lifelong commitment to international education and collaboration. We envisage a future where significant numbers of Australian doctors participate in institutional relationships with health services and education providers in resource-poor settings. Technology might be exploited to deliver remote education and enhance supervision, with the overall effect of building local capacity. These partnerships should be mutually beneficial.

Several Australian hospitals and colleges have successfully developed longitudinal relationships with health services abroad. Senior trainees should contribute to these collaborations, in part because learning how to foster international partnerships is a key component of GHT. Although there are barriers to registrar involvement, we believe it is an important factor in ensuring sustainability.

Authors

  • Rob D Mitchell1
  • Jennifer C Jamieson2
  • Jake Parker3
  • Fred B Hersch4
  • Zoe Wainer5
  • A Rob Moodie6
  • 1. Emergency Department, Townsville Hospital, Townsville, QLD.
  • 2. Médecins Sans Frontières Trauma Centre, Kunduz, Afghanistan.
  • 3. Kimberley Population Health Unit, Broome, WA.
  • 4. Menzies Centre for Health Policy, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
  • 5. Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne and St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.
  • 6. School of Population Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC.

Correspondence: mitchell.rob@me.com

Competing interests

No relevant disclosures.
View this article on Wiley Online Library

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