Elective Global Surgery Rotations for Residents: A Call for Cooperation and Consortium Katrina B. Mitchell • Margaret J. Tarpley • John L. Tarpley • Kathleen M. Casey Published online: 12 October 2011 Ó Socie ´te ´ Internationale de Chirurgie 2011 Abstract Background International elective experiences are becoming an increasingly important component of Amer- ican general surgery education. In 2011, the Residency Review Committee (RRC) approved these electives for credit toward graduation requirements. Previous surveys of general surgery program directors have established strong interest in these electives but have not assessed the feasi- bility of creating a national and international database aimed at educational standardization. The present study was designed to gain in-depth information from program directors about features of existing international electives at their institution and to ascertain interest in national collaboration. Methods This cross-sectional study of 253 United States general surgery program directors was conducted using a web-based questionnaire program. Results Of the program directors who responded to the survey, twelve percent had a formal international elective in place at their institution, though 80% of these did not have a formal associated curriculum for the rotation. Sixty percent of respondents reported that informal international electives existed for their residents. The location, length, and characteristics of these electives varied widely. Sixty- eight percent of program directors would like to participate in a national and international database designed to facil- itate standardization of electives and educational exchange. Conclusions In a world of increasing globalization, international electives are more important than ever to the education of surgery residents. However, a need for stan- dardization of these electives exists. The creation of an educational consortium and database of international electives could improve the academic value of these elec- tives, as well as provide increased opportunities for twin- ning and bidirectional exchange. Abbreviations ABS American Board of Surgery ACS American College of Surgeons APDS Association of Program Directors in Surgery IRB Institutional Review Board OGB Operation Giving Back RRC Residency Review Committee PGY Post-Graduate Year Introduction In the spring of 2011, the General Surgery Residency Review Committee (RRC) and the American Board of Surgery (ABS) issued a groundbreaking ruling in favor of approving international electives for credit toward resi- dency graduation requirements. After extensive debate over the ways in which international electives could be standardized to ensure consistent educational experience for residents, the surgery RRC approved a set of require- ments for such electives [1, 2] (Table 1). The surgery RRC K. B. Mitchell (&) Department of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College-New York Presbyterian Hospital, 1300 York Avenue, New York 10065, USA e-mail: kbm9002@nyp.org M. J. Tarpley Á J. L. Tarpley Department of Surgery, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, D-4314 MCN, Nashville, TN 37323-2730, USA K. M. Casey Operation Giving Back, American College of Surgeons, 633 N Saint Clair Street, Chicago, IL 60611, USA 123 World J Surg (2011) 35:2617–2624 DOI 10.1007/s00268-011-1311-4