ABSTRACT

In 1995, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined the social accountability of medical schools as "the obligation to direct their education, research, and service activities towards addressing the priority health concerns of the community, region and the nation that they have a mandate to serve". Socially accountable education prepares future health professionals to address the priority health concerns of society, often with a focus on vulnerable and marginalised populations. Internationalisation and accreditation standards can present challenges for students and faculty in medical education as well as the programming within the offices. Curricular and philosophical challenges are created when trying to locate appropriate opportunities for global health experiential learning. Global health offices provide consistency across the learning continuum, from undergraduate programmes to graduate or residency programmes, ensuring that learner and faculty experiences are consistent with the values and commitment that institutions want to convey in their global health engagement.