ABSTRACT
Trainees (and sending institutions) have a great desire for more international health experiences (IHEs) in medical school. IHEs are viewed as a major plus to those seeking admittance into professional schools and appear to be beneficial to medical, health professional and health sciences students. However, while programs in the Global North celebrate the positive outcomes of international engagements, they historically have ignored potentially negative impacts of their students and on their students. This chapter examines potential benefits and harms and looks at ways of maximizing the positives not only for the individual but also for sending programs and hosts. Individual trainees, sponsoring institutions and host community each may have different perspectives on cultural challenges, for example work ethic, expectations and perceptions of skills and what trainees might do, relationships, with trust affected by power dynamics and access to resources and learning objectives. Social accountability is considered increasingly important in medical schools in Canada and around the world.
