Undergraduate Surgical Education: a Global Perspective

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Global Health Workforce Development

Background:

• Undergraduate surgical education is inadequate for preparing medical students for patient care.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has further compromised surgical training opportunities and resources.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the current state of undergraduate surgical education globally.
• To identify key barriers and propose solutions for improving surgical training.

Main Methods:

• Literature review across five countries: Egypt, Morocco, Somaliland, Kenya, and the UK.
• Semi-structured reflections on existing surgical education practices.

Main Results:

• Identified major barriers: lack of standardized curricula and insufficient human resources for surgical education.
• COVID-19 exacerbated challenges by reducing educator availability and clinical learning access.

Conclusions:

• Improving undergraduate surgical education is essential for addressing the global surgical workforce shortage.
• Proposed solutions include standardized curricula, incentivizing educators, and integrating technology-enhanced learning.