UCLA

Collaborations between orthopaedic training programs in developed countries and international sites in austere environments offer abundant benefits and mutual enrichment. It is often assumed that the exchange is one-sided and we hope to dispel that assumption. Despite the logistical challenges inherent in these partnerships, our experience has been unanimously reviewed as "greatly beneficial" to visiting residents/faculty and surgeons/trainees at the host location. We hope that this article will (1) encourage faculty at training programs to permit and enable residents to experience international orthopaedics while still in training; (2) encourage faculty to visit international hospitals while contributing expertise in subspecialty surgery, research, and teaching; and (3) encourage international hospitals to create opportunities for clinical and research collaboration with academic orthopaedics departments.