Fit for the future? The place of global health in the UK's postgraduate medical training: a review

Hall, JA; Brown, CS; Pettigrew, L; Malik, ANJ; Watson, J; Topiwala, A; McGregor, L; Ramsay, R

There is a strong case and increasing consensus on the need for a common minimum requirement of global health awareness that trainees of all specialties must attain. This can be achieved through a small number of common core competencies in global health, easily realizable without overseas experience, which are consistent across core curricula. These could cover issues such as the global burden of disease, global determinants of health, the role of international organizations in health, sustainable development and the potential structures of health-care systems. These competencies do not need to be developed from scratch; those already introduced by Colleges and described in Table 3 can be used as a starting point. Such competencies can be framed to naturally follow on from those being introduced into undergraduate medical training. 7 With common core competencies in place, Colleges can develop additional competencies relevant to their specialty at their own discretion. Levels of knowledge and understanding of global health issues will fit with standard levels of competence in curricula, though ensuring that they are covered by appropriate assessments will require a specific mandate from Colleges.