Feeling Like a Rookie: A Health Professions Teacher's Experience in a Study Abroad Program Designed to Address Global...

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Health Professions Education
• Social Determinants of Health

Background:

• Recognizing health inequities is crucial for addressing disparities.
• Interprofessional education (IPE) is a key strategy to reduce health inequities by fostering shared values among health professionals.
• Study abroad programs offer unique interprofessional, experiential learning opportunities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reflect on faculty experiences in a health professions study abroad program.
• To identify faculty roles and challenges in an interprofessional, global health context.
• To explore the impact of immersive learning on addressing health inequities.

Main Methods:

• A four-week study abroad program in Crete, Greece, for health professions students.
• Theoretical instruction on social determinants of health.
• Immersive experiential learning and reflective journaling for faculty.

Main Results:

• Faculty identified key roles: teacher, counselor, and colleague.
• Reflective journaling helped process challenges like discussing discrimination and racism.
• Strategies were developed to overcome faculty inexperience, enhancing the educational experience.

Conclusions:

• Study abroad programs provide valuable interprofessional educational experiences.
• Faculty engagement in global health initiatives is essential for addressing health inequities.
• Interprofessional collaboration fostered through such programs is key to finding solutions for global health problems.