Researching Global Health Residency Programs: A Step-by-Step Guide

Deciding where and how to build a career in global health starts long before Match Day. It begins with how you research programs. For applicants interested in international medicine, global surgery, or a global health residency track, the quality of your program research strategy can shape your training, your opportunities, and your long‑term career trajectory.

This guide walks you step‑by‑step through how to research programs in global health, with a focus on U.S.-based residencies that offer structured global health experiences or tracks, as well as ways to evaluate international options.

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Understanding What “Global Health” Means in Residency

Before you research programs, you need to clarify what you mean by global health. Programs use the term in different ways, and misunderstanding this is one of the most common mistakes applicants make.

Common Models of Global Health Training in Residency

You’ll encounter several types of offerings:

1. Global Health Residency Track or Pathway
   A formal curricular pathway embedded within a primary specialty:

   • Available in internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine, OB/Gyn, EM, surgery, psychiatry, and others
   • Structured didactics (seminars, journal clubs, case conferences)
   • Longitudinal global health mentorship
   • Typically includes at least one funded international or domestic underserved rotation
   • Sometimes leads to a certificate or distinction in global health

2. Elective Rotations in International Medicine Programs without a formal global health residency track might still offer:

   • 2–8 week rotations at partner sites abroad
   • Domestic rotations with refugee, migrant, or underserved populations
   • Faculty supervision with variable structure These can be excellent, but you’ll need to assess their consistency and depth.

3. Global Health-Focused Programs (Integrated Identity) Some residencies embed global health into their core identity:

   • Mission statements emphasizing health equity, social determinants, and international collaboration
   • A majority of residents participate in global health activities
   • Often have multiple faculty with long-term overseas partnerships
   • May be linked with schools of public health or global health institutes

4. Fellowships and Post-Residency Options Although not the primary focus here, your residency research should consider:

   • Programs with strong placement into global health fellowships
   • Institutions that host global health fellowships (often a proxy for robust infrastructure)

As you research, distinguish between:

• “We support residents doing an overseas elective if they find one”
  vs.
• “We have a structured global health residency track with recurring funding, faculty, curriculum, and defined outcomes.”

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Step 1: Clarify Your Own Global Health Goals

You can’t effectively evaluate residency programs until you’ve defined what you want from global health training.

Key Questions to Ask Yourself

Reflect and write down your answers to questions like:

• Practice focus
  • Do you envision a career with:
    • Regular time abroad (e.g., 3–6 months per year)?
    • Short-term but recurring trips?
    • Primarily domestic work with immigrant, refugee, or underserved populations?
• Type of work
  • Direct clinical care?
  • Health systems strengthening and capacity building?
  • Implementation science, epidemiology, or research?
  • Policy, advocacy, or human rights?
• Geographic or population focus
  • Specific region (e.g., East Africa, South Asia, Latin America)?
  • Particular populations (e.g., refugees, people living with HIV, maternal-child health)?
• Balance with core training
  • Are you willing to trade some elective time for global health experiences?
  • Is your priority to become a technically outstanding clinician first, with global health as a secondary focus—or equally weighted?

Turning these into a short “global health statement” will guide your program research strategy.

Example personal statement (for yourself, not ERAS):

“I want to become a primary care physician with long-term engagement in East Africa, focusing on health systems and HIV care, while also working with immigrant communities in the U.S. I need structured mentorship, at least one substantial multi-month international rotation, and strong training in public health methods.”

Having this clarity will help you quickly identify which programs truly match your goals.

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Step 2: Build a Systematic Program Research Strategy

Randomly browsing program websites is inefficient. Instead, use a structured process to research residency programs with global health opportunities.

A. Start with Big-Picture Sources

Use these to generate your initial list:

• Institutional global health centers
  Search:
  • “[Your specialty] global health track [city/state]”
  • “[Institution name] global health residency track”
  • “[Institution] global health institute / global health center”
• Residency program sites
  Look for:
  • “Global Health,” “Health Equity,” “International Medicine,” “Underserved Medicine”
• Professional societies and networks
  • American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) global health resources
  • American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Global Health
  • Emergency medicine and surgery global health committees
  • Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) member programs
• Mentors and advisors
  • Ask your home institution’s global health faculty where they trained
  • Ask recent grads engaged in international medicine about their programs

Create a spreadsheet with:

• Program name
• Specialty
• City/State (and country if outside U.S.)
• Presence of global health residency track (Y/N)
• Global health elective opportunities (Y/N)
• Initial notes/link

Aim for an initial list of 20–40 programs that might fit.

B. Define Your Evaluation Criteria Upfront

To avoid being swayed by glossy websites, decide what matters most to you. Example categories:

1. Global Health Structure

   • Formal global health residency track vs. ad hoc electives
   • Longitudinal curriculum vs. single elective option

2. Depth of Opportunities

   • Number and types of international sites
   • Options for multi-month or repeat rotations
   • Domestic global health equivalents (refugee health, border health, Indian Health Service, etc.)

3. Mentorship and Faculty

   • Number of core global health faculty
   • Evidence of sustained in-country presence and collaboration

4. Funding and Logistics

   • Guaranteed or competitive funding for rotations
   • Visa, safety, and housing support

5. Outcomes

   • Alumni in global health careers or fellowships
   • Scholarly output in global health

6. Core Clinical Training

   • Overall reputation and clinical volume in your specialty
   • Breadth of pathology (both domestic and international)

Assign each category a relative importance (e.g., 1–5). This will anchor your comparisons.

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Step 3: How to Research Residency Programs in Detail

Once you have a preliminary list, shift from broad scanning to deep evaluation. This is where how to research residency programs becomes highly strategic.

A. Read Beyond the “Global Health” Page

Program websites are marketing tools. To get a realistic picture, go deeper:

1. Global Health Track Page (if available) Look for:

   • Clear description of curriculum (seminars, workshops, fieldwork)
   • Required vs. optional activities
   • Any mention of competencies or learning objectives
   • Evidence of regular updates (recent dates, current faculty)

2. Resident Bios and Profiles

   • How many residents mention global health or international medicine?
   • Do they list actual projects, countries, or research topics?
   • Are there residents from or with prior work in low- and middle-income countries?

3. Faculty Profiles

   • Search for “global health,” “health equity,” “international,” or specific regions
   • Look for:
     • Long-term work at specific sites
     • Research collaborations
     • Leadership roles in global health organizations
   • Cross-check faculty names in PubMed or Google Scholar for global health publications.

4. Institutional Global Health Center

   • Does the med school or hospital have:
     • A global health institute, center, or department?
     • Regular global health grand rounds or conferences?
     • Funding mechanisms for trainees?

Programs embedded in strong institutional global health ecosystems typically offer more sustained and better-supported training.

B. Evaluate the Integrity of International Partnerships

True global health is not “medical tourism.” Distinguish well-structured partnerships from occasional short trips.

Look for signs of strong partnerships:

• Named partner sites (e.g., “20-year partnership with X Hospital in Malawi”)
• Bilateral exchanges (trainees come from partner countries to the U.S., not just U.S. trainees going abroad)
• Joint research projects or publications
• Local leadership highlighted on the website
• Clear educational and ethical frameworks for visiting residents

Red flags:

• Vague references to “international missions” with no details
• Heavy emphasis on short-term trips focused on visiting teams performing high-volume procedures with little mention of local capacity building
• No mention of how residents are prepared (language, cultural humility, safety, supervision)

C. Ask Targeted Questions on Interview Day

Your interview is a critical data-gathering opportunity. Prepare specific questions about global health and international medicine:

For program leadership:

• “How many residents participate in the global health residency track each year?”
• “Is participation capped, and how competitive is it?”
• “What percent of residents do at least one global health rotation?”
• “What funding is available for international electives? Is it guaranteed or competitive?”
• “How have your global health offerings changed over the past 5 years?”

For current residents:

• “How easy is it to actually go on an international rotation given schedule and coverage?”
• “Are there last-minute barriers (credentialing, funding, supervisor availability)?”
• “What kind of preparation did you get before going abroad (language, safety, ethics, cultural orientation)?”
• “How well supported did you feel while you were there?”
• “How did your global health work fit with your core clinical training needs?”

Take notes immediately after interviews while details are fresh.

D. Reach Out Before Interview Season (Strategically)

If you’re particularly interested in a program’s global health track:

• Email the global health track director or key faculty in late summer/early fall:
  • Briefly state your interest and background
  • Ask 2–3 specific questions that are not answered on the website
• Attend virtual information sessions often run by global health centers
• Ask your own mentors if they know faculty at that program who could offer informal insight

Be professional and concise; you’re building relationships, not lobbying.

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Step 4: Comparing and Evaluating Residency Programs Objectively

Once you’ve gathered information, you need a framework for evaluating residency programs in global health.

A. Create a Scoring Matrix

Use your spreadsheet to score each program (e.g., 1–5) across key dimensions:

1. Global Health Track Quality

   • 1: No track, occasional informal electives
   • 3: Formal track, but small or inconsistently described
   • 5: Well-established track with clear curriculum, multiple cohorts, and institutional support

2. Partnership Strength

   • 1: One-off trips, minimal information
   • 3: Some recurring sites, moderate detail
   • 5: Long-term, bilateral partnerships with named institutions and clear frameworks

3. Mentorship and Faculty Bandwidth

   • 1: One “global health interested” faculty with many other roles
   • 3: Several faculty with active projects
   • 5: Dedicated global health faculty, including at least one with majority time in global health

4. Funding and Access

   • 1: Residents must self-fund; rare exceptions
   • 3: Some institutional support, but not guaranteed
   • 5: Routine, predictable funding; clear process; most interested residents supported

5. Alumni Outcomes

   • 1: No visible alumni in global health
   • 3: Some graduates working in underserved or global roles
   • 5: Clear track record of alumni in global health careers, fellowships, NGOs, academic positions

This doesn’t need to be perfectly quantitative, but it forces you to be explicit.

B. Weigh Global Health Against Overall Training

Residency is first and foremost about becoming a strong clinician. When evaluating residency programs, ask:

• Will this program make me a competent, independent physician in my specialty?
• Are there trade-offs in case volume or breadth for global health time?
• How have prior global health track graduates performed on boards and in fellowships?

Sometimes, a program with mediocre global health offerings but outstanding core training plus flexible electives can be a better choice than a program that markets global health heavily but has weaker clinical foundations.

C. Consider Lifestyle, Safety, and Practicalities

Global health work adds layers of logistics:

• Travel ability
  • Ease of taking extended leave
  • Policies on call swaps and schedule adjustments
• Family considerations
  • Support for residents with partners or children
  • Options for bringing family on longer rotations
• Safety
  • Pre-travel risk assessment processes
  • Insurance and evacuation policies
  • Program track record in managing crises (political instability, pandemics)

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Step 5: Special Considerations for International and Non-U.S. Programs

While many applicants focus on U.S.-based residency programs with a global health residency track, some consider training partly or entirely abroad.

A. Accreditation and Career Implications

If you’re considering non-U.S. training:

• Understand licensing implications in the country where you plan to practice long term (e.g., ABIM, ABFM requirements in the U.S.)
• Some combined or international tracks offer:
  • Time split between U.S. and partner country
  • Joint degrees (e.g., MPH) with global health focus
• Verify:
  • Accreditation (ACGME or equivalent)
  • Whether training time abroad counts toward board eligibility
  • Visa considerations for both your training country and future practice location

B. Quality and Sustainability of Overseas Training

Ask the same critical questions you would of U.S.-based programs:

• Are local trainees and faculty clearly integrated?
• Is your presence actually helpful, or are you primarily a learner?
• Who supervises you clinically, and what is their training?
• Is there a focus on sustainable capacity building?

For many applicants, a U.S. residency with a strong global health residency track plus structured international electives is more practical and career-safe than full training abroad.

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Step 6: Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Even highly motivated applicants fall into predictable traps when researching global health programs.

Pitfall 1: Confusing Marketing with Mentorship

Programs know “global health” is attractive. Avoid:

• Being impressed by glossy photos of residents in scrubs with children abroad, without substance behind them.
• Overvaluing number of sites vs. depth of relationships.

Solution:
Press for details:

• “How long have you partnered with this site?”
• “How often do residents rotate there?”
• “What does the local partner say about this collaboration?”

Pitfall 2: Overemphasizing Travel and Underemphasizing Content

Travel ≠ training. A 4-week trip with limited supervision may offer less learning than a 6-month longitudinal clinic with refugees at home.

Solution:
Ask:

• What are the learning objectives of each rotation?
• How are rotations evaluated?
• What pre-departure and post-return debriefings occur?

Pitfall 3: Ignoring Ethical and Equity Dimensions

Global health is inherently political and ethical. Programs that do not explicitly address this may not prepare you well.

Solution:
Look for:

• Formal teaching on global health ethics, decolonizing global health, power dynamics, and local ownership
• Evidence that local partners are leading or co-leading projects
• Diverse faculty and residents, including those from low- and middle-income countries

Pitfall 4: Underestimating Time and Energy Demands

Global health tracks can add responsibilities—extra clinics, projects, calls, or coursework.

Solution:
Ask residents:

• “How many hours per month does the track add on average?”
• “Did you feel overextended or was it manageable?”
• “Did you have to give up other electives or opportunities?”

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Putting It All Together: An Example Process

Here’s how a focused, realistic program research strategy might look over a few months:

1. Month 1: Self-Assessment & Exploration

   • Write your 2–3 sentence global health goals.
   • Build an initial list of 30 programs using search engines, faculty recommendations, and society lists.
   • Flag which have a named global health residency track.

2. Month 2: Deep Dive & Narrowing

   • Thoroughly review websites for your top 15–20 programs.
   • Create your scoring matrix and rate each program on:
     • Track structure
     • Partnerships
     • Mentorship
     • Funding
     • Alumni outcomes
   • Narrow to 12–15 programs where your interests and the program’s strengths align.

3. Month 3: Targeted Outreach

   • Email 3–5 global health track directors with thoughtful questions.
   • Ask your mentors if they have contacts at your top programs and request introductions.
   • Adjust your rank of programs based on what you learn.

4. Interview Season

   • Prepare questions tailored to each program.
   • After each interview, jot down:
     • What felt genuine vs. performative
     • Resident attitudes toward global health opportunities
     • Any misalignment with what you read online

5. Rank List Time

   • Revisit your scoring matrix.
   • Weigh global health against:
     • Overall reputation and training quality
     • Geographic/lifestyle fit
     • Personal support systems
   • Create a rank list that reflects both your commitment to global health and your need for strong core training.

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FAQs: Researching Global Health Residency Programs

1. How many “global health” programs should I apply to?

Most applicants blend:

• A core set of programs with a strong global health residency track (maybe 5–10)
• Additional high-quality programs with flexible electives but no formal track

The exact number depends on your competitiveness and specialty, but avoid limiting yourself only to programs that advertise global health. Some excellent programs are quieter online but very supportive in practice.

2. Is a formal global health residency track essential for a global health career?

No, but it can be very helpful. A track offers:

• Structured mentorship
• Protected time
• Reliable funding
• A community of like-minded peers

However, motivated residents at non-track programs can still build strong global health careers if:

• They have supportive mentors
• The program allows elective flexibility
• They strategically use conferences, short courses, and fellowships post-residency

3. Should I prioritize international rotations over domestic underserved work?

Not necessarily. Some of the most impactful and rigorous global health training happens domestically:

• Refugee and immigrant health clinics
• U.S.–Mexico border health sites
• Indian Health Service sites
• Urban or rural safety-net hospitals

Look for programs that frame domestic work with global health principles—equity, systems thinking, social determinants of health—not just “charity care.”

4. How can I tell if a program’s global health efforts are ethical and not just “voluntourism”?

Key questions and signs:

• Do they emphasize long-term partnerships over short-term trips?
• Are there local trainees and faculty who benefit, and are they visible in program descriptions?
• Is there didactic content on ethics, power, and decolonizing global health?
• Are residents carefully supervised and practicing within their competencies?

Programs that can answer these questions thoughtfully are more likely to align with ethical global health practice.

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By approaching your search with a structured program research strategy—grounded in your own goals, informed evaluation criteria, and careful questioning—you can identify residency programs that will not only train you well as a clinician but also prepare you for a meaningful, sustainable career in global health.