This concentration aims to advance students' knowledge of global health, encourage global approaches to health care delivery, and enhance understanding of geographies and culture so that their clinical skills and research acumen become global tools when practicing medicine. Students will have the opportunity to complete an international research project, and/or clinical rotation, and/or field experience by their fourth year.

Curriculum

Students attend monthly meetings consisting of interactive seminars, lectures, and guest speakers. Topics covered may include but are not limited to:  global impact of infectious diseases, influence of social and cultural factors on illness, assessing strengths and weaknesses of health care systems in both developed and resource-constrained nations and clinical skills in a global setting. Students are strongly encouraged to visit an international site by the end of their fourth year and participate in a clinical medicine program, conduct a research project, or design a health intervention program. Students are responsible for the funding but assistance in procuring financial aid will be provided. Students may qualify for a stipend from the RISE office for their summer scholarly project during their first year but are encouraged to take multiple trips sponsored by outside funding resources. This concentration requires a Capstone Project in the area of international medicine; the project students complete for their international field experience may be used to satisfy this requirement. The capstone may be original research (implemented in the summer of their first year), a service project, a clinical experience or an in-depth case study of a particular health issue. Students will be offered research opportunities developed with the assistance of the course co-directors with affiliated partners in the following countries, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, India, Japan, Mexico, Senegal, South Africa, Thailand, and Uganda.

Opportunities

Over four years, students will participate in mandatory and elective activities, to include monthly meetings, field experiences, research projects, and seminars. Students are encouraged to avail themselves of all opportunities to broaden their experience in International Medicine. Some examples of opportunities include:

●        Ability to conduct global health research and/or gain experience in global healthcare delivery in a foreign country

●        Assistance in procuring funding for travel

●        Ability to conduct research virtually with international partner institutions

●        Training in quality improvement and leadership techniques

●        Training in practical clinical skills that can be applied to any global setting

●        Virtual seminars with international medical students from partner institutions

Examples of Student Scholarly Work

“The Effect of Statins on Tuberculosis Mortality and Hospital Complications in Khon Kaen, Thailand” Lilla Kis, Alexander Irwin, Kimberly Menezes, 2022

“Establishing a Student-Run Free Clinic for Refugees” Grace Benmhend, 2022

“Community perceptions in metropolitan Panama highlights opportunity for improved reproductive health education and services related to Zika virus” Cody Davis, 2021 and Brennan Ninesling, 2022

“Implementation of a Medical English Curriculum for Professionals in Gansu Provincial Hospital, China” Adam Elkhayat and Alana Snyder, 2021

“The Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV in the Northeast Region of Haiti” Jennifer Griffith, 2021

Faculty Leadership

Lynette Menezes, PhD
Asa Oxner, MD 
Zachary Porterfield, MD, PhD
Julia Toman, MD 
John Sinnott, MD