A scoping review of the ethical impacts of international medical electives on local students and patient care.

ABSTRACT:

Background

International electives are often considered a valuable learning opportunity for medical students. Yet, as travelling to lower and middle income countries (LMICs) becomes more common, ethical considerations of such practices emerge. We conducted a scoping review to assess the extent to which five ethical themes were addressed in existing literature about electives, with the aim of investigating the ethical impacts of medical student electives on local resources, patients and clinicians in LMICs.

Methods

We systematically searched PubMed, Global Health and Embase databases using the search terms "(ethics) AND (medical electives)". Thematic content analysis was undertaken using a combination of deductive and inductive themes. The deductive themes included: exceeding

SUBMITTER: Chmura M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10765728 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature