Global surgery education in Belgium: Student’s knowledge, attitudes and exposure

Abstract

Purpose

Understanding how medical students perceive global surgery will be essential in strengthening the global surgery workforce by 2030. This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes and exposure of Belgian medical students towards global surgery and identified avenues for medical institutions to include meaningful educational opportunities.

Methods

An online survey was distributed to first to final year medical students across Belgian universities using social media. Data were collected on demographics, exposure, knowledge and attitudes towards global surgery. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated.

Results

A total of 304 medical students participated from four Belgian universities. A minority reported having exposure to global surgery (24.7%), and most wanted more exposure (75.3%). Almost all respondents agreed (94.4%) that it is a relevant topic for medical students, and most agreed (71%) more compulsory education on the topic is needed. Only 13 to 44% of students could correctly answer questions testing global surgery knowledge. Personal/family responsibilities were the most important barrier to pursuing global surgery careers.

Conclusions

Global surgery knowledge and exposure is limited among Belgian medical students despite interest in the field. These results advocate for the inclusion of decolonised global surgery education alongside equitable international clinical internships in medical education worldwide.

Keywords:

• Medical education
• global surgery
• global health

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Annelies Van Rie for her assistance in the creation of the survey, and would like to thank the InciSioN Belgium team and the Belgian Medical Student’s Association for their assistance in disseminating the survey.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

This study protocol was approved by the institutional review board of the Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium (BC-10194).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available Mendeley Data at http://doi.org/10.17632/93gwsz8xt4.2

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Nicholas Rennie

Nicholas Rennie, MD, is a first-year surgical resident affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium.

Eva Degraeuwe

Eva Degraeuwe, MD, is a PhD student at the Department of Internal Medicine and Paediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium.

Charlotte Deltour

Charlotte Deltour, MD, is an obstetrics and gynaecology resident at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium.

Miryam Serry Senhaji

Miryam Serry Senhaji, MD, completed her medical training at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium.

Judith Brusselmans

Judith Brusselmans, MD, is a first-year obstetrics and gynaecology resident affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium.

Margo Vandenheede

Margo Vandenheede, MD, is a first-year surgical resident affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium.

Frederik Berrevoet

Frederik Berrevoet, MD PhD, is the head of department at the Department of General and Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium.

Elke Van Daele

Elke Van Daele, MD, is an upper gastro-intestinal surgeon at the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium.

Wouter Willaert

Wouter Willaert, MD PhD, is an oncological gastro-intestinal surgeon affiliated with the Department of Human Structure and Repair, Ghent University, Belgium.