Clinical skills development | Provided with first-hand experience of new pathologies not previously witnessed other than in textbooks. Improved skills in communicating with patients and colleagues/team members. Changed approach to patient examinations. |
Improve quality of patient care and delivery of health services | Forced to think about health disparities that exist and how patients in the US access the health system, and ways to reduce barriers (particularly those related to language and cultural differences). |
Increased volunteerism | Gained an opportunity to provide clinical, academic, and research training/services to others. Renewed interest in volunteering more frequently, both globally and locally. |
Leadership | Added to professional development, including academic outputs, recognition from supervisor/chair, and promotion. Asked to participate on professional committees, international in scope. |
Program management | Developed skills in designing and planning workshops. Re-learned basic skills that had been forgotten working in a resource-rich environment, such as process improvement, change management, and leadership. |
Relationship building | Expanded professional network. Learned about Ethiopian cultural practices in health delivery, such as end-of-life and post-mortem care. |
Resource utilization | Reduced resource consumption of disposable resources at work. Changed frequency/approach to ordering diagnostic lab studies and imaging studies. Reconsidered excessive use of and reliance on technology in the US health system. |
Teaching skills | Improved skills in curriculum development. Changed approach in teaching medical students, residents, and departmental staff. |