developmental impact of international medical service trips on premedical students

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20316432

Undergraduate premedical students are increasingly traveling to developing nations as a way to combine an interest in service, travel, and career exploration. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis is to understand the developmental and admissions impact of international medical service trips on the students who participate. Eight medical students participated in a semi-structured interview that asked them to reflect on an international medical service experience from their college career. Arthur Chickering's student development theory served as a theoretical framework for understanding student development. This study found that students chose to participate due to a combined interest in travel and learning about the field of medicine. Participants described shadowing, spending time with patients on the wards and research as their main activities. They related increases in maturity, self-confidence, self-reliance, and changes in point-of-view. Global perspective was impacted as participants developed relationships with people in their host country. Seeing poverty and lack of access to healthcare gave an appreciation of privilege. Trips played prominently on medical school applications and were discussed in interviews. Higher education professionals who work with premedical students can have a positive impact on their development and careers by advising them of ways to engage in trips with an ethical and learning mindset.