ABSTRACT
Recent years have seen an extraordinary surge of interest among students and residents in global surgery. Many trainees seek a clinical experience in a resource-poor area to learn more about the challenges of surgical care in these environments and also to make a contribution to teaching, research or service delivery programs. This interest is likely to increase even more as the surgical community becomes more involved in global health, a field traditionally with a focus on communicable diseases and large-scale public health programs. Recent work has highlighted the significant role of surgery in the public health of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with estimates of the treatment for surgical conditions encompassing approximately 30" of the global burden of disease. This chapter presents some practical information for trainees on a surgical elective in a resource-poor area. The scope of surgical work at most district or general hospitals includes mostly emergency surgery, including trauma care and obstetric emergencies.
