Perspectives and impact of a graduate global surgery course

Introduction Currently half of the global burden of disease can be addressed by surgical solutions. This number is even higher in low- and middle-income countries, where up to 90% of the population lacks access to surgical care. The Oxford University Global Surgery Short Course was created to improve the accessibility of high quality surgical, anaesthetic, and obstetrical care worldwide. This study evaluated the participants’ perspectives, post-course activities and experiences, in order to identify areas for improvement. Methods An electronic survey was administered to the entire cohort (2021–2024) for anonymous self-reporting. Participant demographics, ratings and recommendation of the course, perceived knowledge improvement, future content applicability, and post-course output in terms of mentorship, group membership, academic scholarship, and funding were evaluated. Results Of the 89 respondents (69% response rate), 68% came from LMICs, 70% were female, and 90% had careers in the medical field. An array of national health ministries was represented by those involved in advocacy and policy making (31%). The course was rated excellent, educationally beneficial, knowledge enhancing, and worthy of recommendation by all respondents. Following the course, 87% of participants deemed the material frequently applicable to their daily work, 70% were involved in global surgery groups, 63% published in the field, 58% pursued further education, 40% reported advocacy or policy making involvement, and 28% received global surgery grants or scholarships. Conclusion This course demonstrated the feasibility of offering an impactful short course in global surgery that was enjoyed by participants and enhanced their knowledge, skillset, and careers. Level of Evidence 3.

Citation

Williams, S., Devaraj, R., Peter, N., Handa, A., Jani, A., & Lakhoo, K. (2026). Perspectives and impact of a graduate global surgery course. Global Surgical Education-Journal of the Association for Surgical Education, 5(1), 35. 10.1007/s44186-025-00404-3

DOI

10.1007/s44186-025-00404-3

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14709/1248