Presented By: Lucia Pérez Gomez, International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA)
Co-Authors: Yazan Dumaidi, International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA)
Margarida Jubilot Leão, International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA)

Purpose 
The International Federation of Medical Students' Associations' (IFMSA) connects over 1.5 million medical students from 130 countries worldwide. The IFMSA has offered more than 13,000 students annually the opportunity to enroll in a professional exchange program. However, enrolling students in this Global Health mobility program, a clinical internship in a culturally and epidemiologically different health system, entails multiple challenges.

Methods 
Each year,through the report of National Officers, IFMSA collects data on the challenges faced by students when going for exchanges. The methodology to collect those data is through biannual reports, which each participating national member organization in the program has to fill out. In 2020, the national representatives were inquired about the main challenges they face in relation to their incomings while arranging the IFMSA Exchange program.

Results 
The answers were as follows: Problems with accommodation or boarding (33.3%), Problems finding departments and tutors (25%), Recognition of IFMSA exchanges by the university (23.1%), Visa issues, and special documents asked by Embassies (18,5%) - with 23,1% of the National Members Organizations (NMOs) actively reaching out to Embassies to facilitate the VISA processes - and Medical and Liability Insurances (4.6%). Regarding fundraising, most (79,6%) of the NMOs mentioned not fundraising for exchanges in their NMO.

Conclusion 
The survey identifies the main targets to be addressed to expand this mobility opportunity to all the medical students interested in improving their Global Health knowledge through a clinical internship, calling on the relevant medical education stakeholders to work together with the appropriate entities to promote the means of financial, logistical and credential support for medical students perceiving to have student mobility programs through IFMSA Professional Exchanges. IFMSA´s efforts and strategy to overcome these challenges will be tackled during the presentation.