Rwandan family medicine residents expanding their training into South Africa: The use of South-South medical electives in enhancing learning experiences

Abstract

Background: International medical electives are well-accepted in medical education, with the flow of students generally being North-South. In this article we explore the learning outcomes of Rwandan family medicine residents who completed their final year elective in South Africa. We compare the learning outcomes of this South-South elective to those of North-South electives from the literature. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with Rwandan postgraduate family medicine residents who completed a 4-week elective in South Africa during their final year of training. The interviews were thematically analysed in an inductive way. Results: The residents reported important learning outcomes in four overarching domains namely: medical, organisational, educational, and personal. Conclusions: The learning outcomes of the residents in this South-South elective had substantial similarities to findings in literature on learning outcomes of students from the North undertaking electives in the Southern hemisphere. Electives are a useful learning tool, both for Northern students, and students from universities in the South. A reciprocity-framework is needed to increase mutual benefits for Southern universities when students from the North come for electives. We suggest further research on the possibility of supporting South-South electives by Northern colleagues.