International Rotation / Research

International Elective

The Department of Surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center has initiated an International Surgical Rotation for General Surgery Residents. This new addition to General Surgery Residency is in line with the increasing international expansion of the University of Nebraska Medical Center as an entity. The International Healthcare Services of University of Nebraska Medical Center has international collaborations with 118 prominent global institutions in 44 countries. The University has made further significant progress in the recent times with major agreements and collaborations with China, India and Afghanistan. These agreements provide the avenues for undertaking collaborative work in clinical care, research and education for medical students, residents and faculty.

The International Surgical rotation for General Surgery Residents will consist of undertaking clinical rotations in the developing world. These rotations will also provide an option to conduct research into global disparities in health care and how to tackle the "inadequately addressed" burden of surgical disease in the developing world. The first such rotation has commenced in July 2009.

The benefits of the rotations include:

  1. exposure to different health care systems across the world
  2. exposure to different disease patterns and presentations
  3. ability to provide surgical care in the resource-poor environment
  4. to learn different approaches to the same medical/surgical problem
  5. ability to conduct research into global disparities in health care
  6. address issues in tackling the rising burden of surgical disease

This international exposure is important in the current era when everything from manufacturing to health care is being outsourced and the country is witnessing a rising trend in medical tourism. Similarly, the current health care reform is drawing input from health care systems of the world which Surgery residents in the U.S. are not entirely familiar with. This valuable addition to the General Surgery Residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center will increase the international exposure and prepare the graduation residents to enter the new world that is no longer insular but flat.