Role of Humanitarian Cardiac Surgery Missions in Developing the Next Generation of Global Surgeons

With a lack of comprehensive health care systems in resource constrained countries, Global Cardiac Surgery plays a vital role in bridging the gap in access to surgical care. Global Cardiac Surgery relies primarily on voluntary humanitarian multidisciplinary teams whose make up vary but often include medical students. The inclusion of medical students on humanitarian missions has been called into question because of the perceived limited sociocultural competence, risks to patient safety, ethical concerns, diverting focus to medical education over patient care, and financial burden. However, there is growing evidence that for appropriately selected medical students, surgical mission trips can serve as a professional investment by providing them knowledge in global health and surgery and help foster a future career in Global Cardiac Surgery. In order to help develop the next generation of global surgeons, medical students should be adequately trained and encouraged to participate in Global Cardiac Surgery while ensuring their education does not come at a cost to the local population or patient safety.