 This guide is designed to be of assistance to those who have a sense of global responsibility and a desire to make a contribution in an international setting. It is designed to provide information regarding opportunities for service and participation by medical students, family practice residents and academic and practicing family physicians. We encourage those who are interested and involved in the specialty of family practice to seek international experiences, learn from them, and be of service to others. The American Academy of Family Physicians is the national association of family doctors. It is one of the largest national medical organizations and represents more than 89,400 family physicians, family practice residents and medical students in all 50 states and many other locations. It is also the largest organization of family physicians or general practitioners in the world. The Academy was founded in 1947 to promote and maintain high quality standards for family doctors who are providing continuing comprehensive health care to the public. At the time of its founding the Academy was known as the American Academy of General Practice but the name and educational focus was altered in 1971 following the creation of family practice residency training and attainment of specialty status for family practice. Although the AAFP was created primarily to serve people in the United States and the family physicians who provide their care, increasing attention has been provided by the AAFP and its members to the development of family practice around the world and to humanitarian efforts globally. The international experience of an individual may take the form of a purely clinical experience in an existing mission hospital abroad or may take the form of a much more academic experience working with a counterpart medical school abroad to consider curricular changes in our specialty which may benefit both countries. Indeed, any opportunity to contribute to the development of the specialty abroad or to help meet humanitarian needs worldwide must be coupled with the belief that learning from the experience can be beneficial here in the United States as well. We must approach our international experiences with a sense of humility, flexibility, and openness to new ideas. Please use this guide as a tool to identify an experience appropriate to your background experience and goals. We wish you all the best as you pursue international opportunities and look forward to hearing about your experiences. Daniel J. Ostergaard, M.D. |