Dr. Bui
Dr. Bui
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center offers programs in Malawi (above), India, Japan, Honduras, and Italy.
Integrated Care
“Global health electives have tremendous impact in terms of allowing people to experience firsthand the inequalities that exist in global health, and the social and political determinants that cause them,” says Wansom. Those who have the experience “get a snapshot as to how another healthcare system with limited resources is able to provide care to its people and [are] exposed to disease processes and situations that you may not be familiar with from training in the American medical system.”
International health programs at medical schools are growing to accommodate increased demand for overseas experience. UCSF’s residency program formalized residents’ experiences and developed partnership agreements with programs in other countries—ensuring sustainable benefits to hosting countries. The Global Health Scholars Program has sites in Uganda, Saipan, China, and Kenya.
Dr. Dandu believes electives abroad can also offer hospitalists and hospitalists-to-be insight into hand-offs. “One of the central issues for hospitalists is how we help people transition into and out of the hospital,” she explains. “Many of us, as hospitalists, struggle with the fact that we sometimes lose track of our patients when they leave the hospital. One beautiful aspect of many international programs is that residents have an experience with a more holistic approach to care.” TH
Gretchen Henkel is a frequent contributor to The Hospitalist.
Reference
- Ramsey AH, Haq C, Gjerde CL, et al. Career influence of an international health experience during medical school. Fam Med. 2004 June;36(6):412-416.