Resident physicians in their third year of training have the opportunity to participate in an international elective, either at a predetermined site arranged by the internal medicine program or at a site selected by the resident physician. A resident selected site requires approval from both the residency program director as well as the department of graduate medical education (GME).

Elective time at an international site should not exceed the length of one rotation, ordinarily 4-5 weeks. Stays exceeding this period mandate the use of vacation time or approval from the program director.

The resident physician pays airfare, room and board and any additional expenses for the international experience.

It is the resident’s responsibility to obtain the necessary immunizations for his/her proposed host country and furnish a medical letter of clearance from employee health or a private physician documenting both vaccination and appropriate prophylaxis measures (e.g. malaria). If visiting an area with a high prevalence for HIV, it is recommended that the resident physician procure an adequate supply of post exposure highly active antiretroviral therapy (see http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5011a1.htm or N Engl J Med 2003; 348:826-833, Feb 27, 2003)

The resident physician will continue to collect his/her salary while participating in an international elective for a period not to exceed one 4-5 week rotation.

Health insurance coverage for residents traveling overseas is not guaranteed and is the responsibility of the traveling party.

Medical malpractice insurance is country specific. It is highly recommended that the resident physician purchase malpractice insurance while in their host country. Neither the University of Kansas Hospital nor the internal medicine residency program is culpable for litigation incurred while overseas.

Upon return from the international elective, the resident physician is required to give a 45-minute presentation on his/her experience as part of the medicine core conference curriculum.

Objectives:

Appreciate and be able to describe cost-effective approaches to medical diagnosis and treatment under relative and absolute resource constraints. The learner will have the opportunity to practice medicine in a setting that requires dependence on history and physical examination skills with limited laboratory access, choice of medicines, and hospital facilities.
Demonstrate effective team-building skills in working with existing providers, including physicians, nurses, and community health workers, and, potentially, US colleagues from multiple medical disciplines.
Identify prevalent cross-cultural and underserved issues in primary care, and describe how this knowledge could be applied to U.S. practice.
Recognize and treat the illnesses and conditions common to the US and the host country population as well as some tropical ailments, specific to the country visited.
Recognize the importance of public health measures in treating a population.
Learn about and experience the delivery of health care in the host country culture. Gain an understanding of the political, cultural, and historical context and their impact on health and health care delivery.
Understand and appreciate the uniqueness of the culture by building relationships with the local community. This objective will require a commitment on the resident's part to live among the host community in a non-judgmental manner.
Perform all clinical duties in an inpatient and outpatient setting as determined by the host country physician.
Perform procedures commensurate with the resident physician competency level, at the discretion of the host country physician.
Take inpatient call as determined by the host country physician in charge.

Conferences and Seminars:

The resident physician is expected to attend all morning reports, teaching conferences or any other educational experience offered during his/her work at the host country institution.

Supervision:

The resident physician is evaluated by one or more staff physicians at his/her specific medical institution and is required to produce this evaluation on return to the University of Kansas Medical Center. It is recommended, but not imperative, that the host country evaluating physician be trained in Internal Medicine.