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Introduction: There is a growing interest among medical students to learn about global surgery and how they can incorporate it into their further training in residency. This study addresses US-based medical student perceptions of global surgery, medical school experiences, and career plans., Methods: A cross-sectional survey study of US-based medical students was performed. Univariate and multivariable regression models were constructed to assess the impact of student experiences during medical school and mentor experiences on global surgery perceptions and career plans. Career plans for international surgical mission trips and for global surgery advocacy/research were further evaluated., Results: Of the 708 responses, 251 (34.6%) students indicated interest in global surgery. Global surgery curricular experiences during medical school were associated with increased odds of believing that global surgery topics should be included in medical school curricula (OR = 2.42, p = 0.021) and having career plans for global surgery research or advocacy (OR = 3.72, p = 0.002). Students with mentors with global surgery research experience were more likely to have career plans for global surgery research or advocacy (OR = 4.36, p = 0.019). Student participation in global health research was associated with lower odds of having career plans for international surgical mission trips (OR = 0.22, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: Students with more experience in global surgery view it more favorably, and have greater odds of participating in global surgery in their future careers. There is a desire among the respondent medical students for more global surgery education and mentoring among medical institutions. Therefore, medical schools may benefit by offering more global surgery opportunities at their institutions., (Copyright © 2025 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: An estimated 5 billion people lack access to safe surgical care. Development and nurturing of medical student interest in global surgery can play a part in addressing this need. This study examines characteristics and experiences of medical students in the United States (US) associated with interest in global surgery., Methods: A cross-sectional survey study of US-based medical students was performed. Student leaders from the Global Surgery Student Alliance were recruited via email and distributed the online survey to peers at their institutions. Responses from students currently training outside of the US were excluded, as were surveys with <80% completion. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis were performed with p < 0.05 indicating significance in R (Vienna, Austria)., Results: About 708 responses from students at 38 US medical schools were analyzed. 251 students (34.6%) identified as being interested in global surgery. After adjusting for covariates on multivariable regression, demographic factors significantly associated with interest in global surgery were Hispanic/Latino ethnicity (in comparison to Non-Hispanic White/Caucasian, OR = 1.30) and being born outside of the United States (OR = 1.21). Increased interest was also associated with previous clinical experiences in low or middle-income countries (OR = 1.19), public or global health experiences (OR = 1.18), and international service experiences (OR = 1.13)., Conclusions: While many factors may influence student interest in global surgery, previous global health experience and nonclinical global service work are important predictors regardless of background. Our results suggest that medical educators should look to both international clinical and nonclinical collaborations as a means to cultivate and nourish global surgery interest in medical students., (Copyright © 2024 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

South Asia is a demographically crucial, economically aspiring, and socio-culturally diverse region in the world. The region contributes to a large burden of surgically-treatable disease conditions. A large number of people in South Asia cannot access safe and affordable surgical, obstetric, trauma, and anesthesia (SOTA) care when in need. Yet, attention to the region in Global Surgery and Global Health is limited. Here, we assess the status of SOTA care in South Asia. We summarize the evidence on SOTA care indicators and planning. Region-wide, as well as country-specific challenges are highlighted. We also discuss potential directions-initiatives and innovations-toward addressing these challenges. Local partnerships, sustained research and advocacy efforts, and politics can be aligned with evidence-based policymaking and health planning to achieve equitable SOTA care access in the South Asian region under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)., Competing Interests: SZ represents the Association for Socially Applicable Research (ASAR) on the drafting committee of the Maharashtra State Mental Health Policy. He has previously received honoraria from Think Global Health, Harvard Public Health Magazine, and The Hindu. He is on the advisory board of ASAR and Nivarana. JP has received consulting fees from Integra Neurosciences and Johnson & Johnson in the past. GJ was employed by the Rural Surgery Innovations Private Limited. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zadey, Rao, Gondi, Sheneman, Patil, Nayan, Iyer, Kumar, Prasad, Finley, Prasad, Chintamani, Sharma, Ghosh, Jesudian, Fatima, Pattisapu, Ko, Bains, Shah, Alam, Hadigal, Malhotra, Wijesuriya, Shukla, Khan, Pandya, Khan, Tenzin, Hadiga and Peterson.)