Mapping Residency Global Health Experiences to the ACGME Family Medicine Milestones

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Global health (GH) experiences are a unique part of family medicine (FM) training that offer an opportunity for residents to demonstrate development across a multitude of the milestones recently implemented by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The GH experience presents an opportunity for resident development, and including a component of written reflection can provide tangible evidence of development in areas that can be difficult to assess. METHODS: A mixed methods approach was used to integrate quantitative (frequency) data with qualitative content from the written reflections of 12 of our FM residents who participated in GH experiences. RESULTS: Written reflections touched on each of the 22 milestones, although some milestones were noted more frequently than others. The most commonly identified milestones fell within the competency areas of systems-based practice, professionalism, and practice-based learning and improvement. Our qualitative approach allowed us to gain an appreciation of the unique experiences that demonstrated growth across the various milestones. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that any program that offers GH experiences should incorporate some form of written reflection to maximize resident growth and offer evaluative faculty a window into that development.