Let our fellows go: a plea for allowing global surgery electives during pediatric surgical training

In the last 2 years, a coalescence of forces has brought the needs of surgical patients in low resource settings to the top of the international healthcare policy agenda. This same dynamic has propelled academic global surgery, and particularly education, to the forefront. The proportion of surgical trainees seeking global surgical experiences, and interested in incorporating global surgery into their clinical and academic career, has risen sharply. International surgical electives are now allowed in a number of surgical residency programs, if they meet strict criteria. However, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) currently does not allow international electives during pediatric surgical training. This decision has not been contested by the American Board of Surgery (ABS) or the Association of Pediatric Surgery Training Program Directors (APSTPD). Valid concerns exist regarding international pediatric surgical electives. In this article, the authors address these concerns and exhort the APSTPD, the ABS, and the ACGME to re-examine their position on the value of pediatric global surgery electives.

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