Ethical issues in education: Medical trainees and the global health experience

Abstract

With interest in global health experiences (GHEs) by medical trainees remaining high, the number of global health programs offering educational experiences in resource limited settings has proliferated. Development and implementation of GHEs has outpaced the critical evaluation of ethical considerations inherent in these programs. Global health programs must adhere to the four principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, respect of autonomy, and justice in crafting a GHE focused on maximizing the experience of the learners, host country, and patients. The four ethical principles provide a guideline for the development and implementation of highly ethical GHEs for medical trainees.

Keywords: global health; global health experience; medical education; medical student; resident.