Purpose <p>Supportive policy changes from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) have prompted growing development of short-term experiences in global health (STEGHs), particularly in resource-limited settings. Due to a lack of internal global surgery experts, our general surgery residency program “piggybacks” on two structurally distinct surgical STEGHs hosted by other US programs: 1-week mission trips to Central America with a non-profit organization and an 8-week ACGME-approved surgical rotation in Eastern Africa. We performed a rapid qualitative assessment exploring our residents’ changing perspectives on global surgery through participation in these diverse external STEGHs.</p> Methods <p>Current and former trainees who participated in at least one STEGH during residency were purposively sampled for participation in semi-structured interviews. Recordings were summarized independently by at least two research team members using an iteratively refined template of domains mirroring the interview guide. Reconciled summaries were aggregated into a matrix, and rapid qualitative analysis was used to triangulate salient themes.</p> Results <p>Twenty-six trainees participated in surgical STEGHs from 2009 to 2024, of which 13 (50%) participated in individual or group interviews about their experiences. Rapid analysis revealed significant maturation of trainee perspectives on global surgery practice models, cultural humility, and healthcare delivery following STEGHs. However, trainees also faced many challenges during this period of growth, including dilemmas involving fulfilment of the social contract with the local community and adapting to different health systems. Structural differences between the two STEGHs—including scope of practice, trainee role, and duration—influenced the type and extent of impact on trainee growth. Trainees expressed a desire for more sustainable engagement and noted the importance of their home institution’s engagement across all phases of the STEGH. Longitudinal investment in global surgery leaders was viewed as a responsible and powerful method of engagement in global surgery efforts, both domestically and internationally.</p> Conclusion <p>General surgery residency programs that seek to “piggyback” off existing global surgery partnerships can maximize trainee and host community benefits by shifting trainee mindset from service to learning and emphasizing programmatic and individual sustainability to help support effective, ethical and sustainable collaborations.</p>