Developing an African medical and health professions student regional elective exchange program: approaches and lessons learned [version 3; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved]
Background: Given the significant gap in International Medical Elective (IME) opportunities for African health professions students, the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (ECFMG|FAIMER) launched an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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F1000 Research Ltd
2023-02-01
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| Series: | MedEdPublish |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://mededpublish.org/articles/12-37/v3 |
| _version_ | 1797902157870006272 |
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| author | Justin Seeling Anna Iacone Snigdha Mukherjee Faith Nawagi |
| author_facet | Justin Seeling Anna Iacone Snigdha Mukherjee Faith Nawagi |
| author_sort | Justin Seeling |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Given the significant gap in International Medical Elective (IME) opportunities for African health professions students, the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (ECFMG|FAIMER) launched an African regional elective exchange program through the Global Educational Exchange in Medicine and the Health Professions (GEMx) in 2016. This paper provides an overview of the development of the GEMx program, the pillars of implementation, and lessons learned. Methods: The authors conducted a longitudinal qualitative study utilizing in-depth interviews with institutional leaders, program leaders, and faculty, participant observation through symposia, strategic planning meetings, staff meetings, and document review of the annual progress reports, strategic plans, and newsletter articles, abstracts, and concept notes. Common categories were identified and incorporated into a matrix to create themes. Data were analyzed using the manifest content approach guided by a literature review. Results: The key pillars for implementation of the GEMx Africa regional elective exchange program included: the commitment from African training institutional networks and their member institutions that enabled electives to be offered, the GEMx Charter (multilateral agreement) that enabled reciprocity and diversity of elective opportunities, GEMx web-based application system that enabled the centralization of the application process and real-time feedback on acceptance, GEMx Africa Regional Coordination Center in Kampala, Uganda that lead the development and implementation in Africa, and ECFMG mini-grants that helped defray elective costs. Conclusions: Through the development of multilateral partnerships across the continent, the GEMx regional elective exchange program contributed towards bridging a long-existing gap of inadequate opportunities for African health professions students to enhance their global exposure and strengthen their knowledge and skills. . |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T09:13:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9c6e9a745c5d47cb8c84954030b45262 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2312-7996 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T09:13:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | F1000 Research Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | MedEdPublish |
| spelling | doaj.art-9c6e9a745c5d47cb8c84954030b452622023-02-21T01:00:00ZengF1000 Research LtdMedEdPublish2312-79962023-02-011220965Developing an African medical and health professions student regional elective exchange program: approaches and lessons learned [version 3; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved]Justin Seeling0Anna Iacone1Snigdha Mukherjee2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8026-2075Faith Nawagi3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9400-0583FAIMER, ECFMG|FAIMER, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19147, USAFAIMER, ECFMG|FAIMER, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19147, USAFAIMER, ECFMG|FAIMER, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19147, USAFAIMER, ECFMG|FAIMER, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19147, USABackground: Given the significant gap in International Medical Elective (IME) opportunities for African health professions students, the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (ECFMG|FAIMER) launched an African regional elective exchange program through the Global Educational Exchange in Medicine and the Health Professions (GEMx) in 2016. This paper provides an overview of the development of the GEMx program, the pillars of implementation, and lessons learned. Methods: The authors conducted a longitudinal qualitative study utilizing in-depth interviews with institutional leaders, program leaders, and faculty, participant observation through symposia, strategic planning meetings, staff meetings, and document review of the annual progress reports, strategic plans, and newsletter articles, abstracts, and concept notes. Common categories were identified and incorporated into a matrix to create themes. Data were analyzed using the manifest content approach guided by a literature review. Results: The key pillars for implementation of the GEMx Africa regional elective exchange program included: the commitment from African training institutional networks and their member institutions that enabled electives to be offered, the GEMx Charter (multilateral agreement) that enabled reciprocity and diversity of elective opportunities, GEMx web-based application system that enabled the centralization of the application process and real-time feedback on acceptance, GEMx Africa Regional Coordination Center in Kampala, Uganda that lead the development and implementation in Africa, and ECFMG mini-grants that helped defray elective costs. Conclusions: Through the development of multilateral partnerships across the continent, the GEMx regional elective exchange program contributed towards bridging a long-existing gap of inadequate opportunities for African health professions students to enhance their global exposure and strengthen their knowledge and skills. .https://mededpublish.org/articles/12-37/v3Regional elective exchanges; Africa; internationalization in health professions educationeng |
| spellingShingle | Justin Seeling Anna Iacone Snigdha Mukherjee Faith Nawagi Developing an African medical and health professions student regional elective exchange program: approaches and lessons learned [version 3; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved] MedEdPublish Regional elective exchanges; Africa; internationalization in health professions education eng |
| title | Developing an African medical and health professions student regional elective exchange program: approaches and lessons learned [version 3; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved] |
| title_full | Developing an African medical and health professions student regional elective exchange program: approaches and lessons learned [version 3; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved] |
| title_fullStr | Developing an African medical and health professions student regional elective exchange program: approaches and lessons learned [version 3; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved] |
| title_full_unstemmed | Developing an African medical and health professions student regional elective exchange program: approaches and lessons learned [version 3; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved] |
| title_short | Developing an African medical and health professions student regional elective exchange program: approaches and lessons learned [version 3; peer review: 2 approved, 1 not approved] |
| title_sort | developing an african medical and health professions student regional elective exchange program approaches and lessons learned version 3 peer review 2 approved 1 not approved |
| topic | Regional elective exchanges; Africa; internationalization in health professions education eng |
| url | https://mededpublish.org/articles/12-37/v3 |
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