ABSTRACT
Increasing visibility of global realities and disparities coupled with pop culture drive demand for global health education, research and service experiences. A variety of terms is used to refer to global health experiential educational offerings. These include service-learning, short-term experiences in global health (STEGH), international medical electives (IME), fieldwork and internships. Although service-learning has established a strong foothold in undergraduate education and is increasingly gaining traction at graduate and professional education levels, there is a lack of appreciation of how it differs from stand-alone volunteering or service. Global health fieldwork experiences should differ whether under the auspices of education or service. Ethical blunders are frequent when students and faculty act in service before they have sufficient education and understanding of complex global health contexts. While higher education excels at exploring theories, data and critical thinking, many of the successes or failures in global health depend on grassroots, community-based realities, that can defy the academic frameworks.
