Malawi medical journal : the journal of Medical Association of Malawi
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In many low-income countries, including Malawi, expatriate physicians serve diverse roles in clinical care, education, mentorship, and research. A significant proportion of physicians from high-income countries have global health experience. Despite the well-known benefits of global health experiences for expatriates, little is known about local physician and trainee impressions of their expatriate counterparts. The objective of this study was to explore University of Malawi College of Medicine (COM) physicians' and trainees' impressions of expatriate physicians. ⋯ This study highlights the perceived benefits and challenges that physicians and trainees at the COM have experienced with their expatriate counterparts, and suggests roles that expatriates should play while abroad. These findings can be used to help inform existing global health guidelines, assist with the establishment of host institution expectations for global health programmes, and guide individual expatriate physicians who hope to optimise their roles abroad.