PERCEIVED NEED FOR AN INTERNATIONAL ELECTIVE EXPERIENCE AMONG ITALIAN MEDICAL RESIDENTS

In the contemporary society an International Health Elective (IHE) represents a strategic tool in order to implement future medical doctor’s education. In Italy, in the last decade, an increasing interest of trainees and residents to IHE and opportunities was documented and supported by the reorganization of the Italian residency programs, provided by the Ministry for Education, University and Research (MIUR). Aim of the present study was to collect data on perceived need of medical residents for an IHE. A structured questionnaire was developed and administered to medical residents of Palermo’s University who underwent their annual visit to the Occupational Health Physician Ambulatory (OHPA) of Palermo’s University Hospital, in the period between March and October 2011. Medical residents more prone to undergo an IHE were, younger than 29 years old (p