School of Medicine International Electives
For full details on the below electives, please see the SOM catalog
-
Energizing Gastroenterology Development in Rwanda - GAST 545
- Prerequisites:
- MEDC 530 Core Medicine Clerkship
- Description:
- This EGD-Rwanda elective is a 4-week course experience, which includes 2 weeks of international clinical GI experience in Rwanda and 2 weeks of US based GI care at UMMC.
EGD-Rwanda is a collaboration between the University of Maryland Baltimore, Dartmouth University, Harvard University, and the University of Rwanda. The goals of EGD-Rwanda are to improve gastroenterology care in Rwanda, jump-start the formation of a self-sustaining GI fellowship training program in Rwanda, expose UMSOM trainees to global health and global health research, and strengthen the partnership between the University of Maryland Baltimore and Rwanda. As part of achieving the goal of exposing UMSOM trainees to global health and global health research, we will support one or two UMSOM student(s) to travel to Rwanda for two weeks each year to support hands-on training and research in gastroenterology and endoscopy. UMSOM students will be exposed to gastroenterology practice in a developing country. Students will have opportunities to observe endoscopy and participate in case discussions, rounds, and educational sessions. Students will also be expected to assist with documenting clinical findings and data. UMSOM students may also have an opportunity to perform GI-focused research on a locally-relevant subject in conjunction with US and Rwandan physicians and trainees. It is required that participants submit a written summary of their experience within two weeks of return to the US.
- This EGD-Rwanda elective is a 4-week course experience, which includes 2 weeks of international clinical GI experience in Rwanda and 2 weeks of US based GI care at UMMC.
- Prerequisites:
-
Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine (Lusaka, Zambia) - INFE 542
- Description:
- The Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland has been engaged in HIV and public health initiatives in Zambia since 2005. IHV currently has two faculty members who are board-certified infectious disease physicians working in clinical education and public health in Lusaka, Zambia. Medical students, residents, and fellows are invited to rotate with our ID service. We work at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, which is the national referral hospital and also affiliated with the University of Zambia (UNZA) School of Medicine. In terms of the rotation, the trainee will spend time with us on the ID service and also have some options for an internal medicine component; other services may be possible per the trainee’s request. The ID service involves a consult service that operates every weekday morning and an afternoon clinic Wednesday and Thursday, with lectures on Monday and Friday afternoons. The consult service and clinic is supervised by ID-trained doctors. The residents that the trainee will be working with will also be taking overnight call once a week and the trainee may join them on call. Furthermore, we will set apart time for “Global Health Rounds” where we will discuss important topics and opportunities in infectious diseases and international health. This may include reviewing the history of PEPFAR in Africa, and the role of IHV in the HIV epidemic; ethical issues in international health; and career opportunities in global health fields.
Rotation Goals: The purpose of this elective is to provide a clinical experience in tropical infectious diseases in a resource-limited setting for trainees with an interest in global health. The trainee should gain a basic understanding of the treatment of HIV, TB, and other common disease in a resource-limited setting; gain an understanding of the HIV efforts in sub-Saharan Africa; develop an appreciation for the practice of medicine in resource-constrained environments, and the ethical consequences thereof; and learn how they can incorporate global health activities into their future careers.
Rotation Expectations
Each trainee will participate in clinical activities, including call, and educational conferences. Furthermore, there is an expectation that the trainee will contribute to the educational program here. Medical students will present a case conference related to a case they saw during their time here, with related literature review and teaching points.
- The Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland has been engaged in HIV and public health initiatives in Zambia since 2005. IHV currently has two faculty members who are board-certified infectious disease physicians working in clinical education and public health in Lusaka, Zambia. Medical students, residents, and fellows are invited to rotate with our ID service. We work at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, which is the national referral hospital and also affiliated with the University of Zambia (UNZA) School of Medicine. In terms of the rotation, the trainee will spend time with us on the ID service and also have some options for an internal medicine component; other services may be possible per the trainee’s request. The ID service involves a consult service that operates every weekday morning and an afternoon clinic Wednesday and Thursday, with lectures on Monday and Friday afternoons. The consult service and clinic is supervised by ID-trained doctors. The residents that the trainee will be working with will also be taking overnight call once a week and the trainee may join them on call. Furthermore, we will set apart time for “Global Health Rounds” where we will discuss important topics and opportunities in infectious diseases and international health. This may include reviewing the history of PEPFAR in Africa, and the role of IHV in the HIV epidemic; ethical issues in international health; and career opportunities in global health fields.
- Description:
-
Family Medicine in Kenya - FAPH 550
- Prerequisites:
- GSUR 530 Core Surgery Clerkship
- FAPH 530 Family Medicine Clerkship
- OBST 530 Obstetrics & Gynecology Clerkship
- MEDC 530 Core Medicine Clerkship
- PEDI 530 Pediatrics Clerkship
- Description:
- AIC Litein Hospital is a medium-size church-run hospital in Litein, Kenya serving a catchment area of approximately 600,000 people. About 80,000 people have registered AIC Litein Hospital as their primary care site through Kenya’s National Health Insurance Fund. Dr. Matthew Loftus, a University of Maryland ’11 graduate, is the Program Coordinator for the Kabarak University Family Medicine Residency at AIC Litein Hospital. Medical students are welcome to rotate at AIC Litein Hospital, especially those interested in a career in global health. Medical students accepted to rotate at AIC Litein Hospital will spend a week each on Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, and OB/GYN services. All services include daily inpatient hospital ward rounds, outpatient clinics, consultations on other services and in Casualty (the emergency room), opportunities to perform procedures, and at least one overnight call per week. Procedures may include normal vaginal delivery, first assisting on c-sections and other surgeries, paracentesis, thoracocentesis, incision and drainage of abscesses, and lumbar puncture. Kenyan and American faculty members will be available at all times to supervise the student, who will see patients together with a translator. Students will also read from required texts on tropical medicine, East African history, and global health. They will participate in weekly educational sessions with Family Medicine residents and be expected to make one presentation to all of the students and interns at the hospital about a topic of interest to them.
Rotation Goals: The purpose of this rotation is to give students the opportunity to experience and understand firsthand the differences in and disparities between American and Kenyan health systems. The student will also be able to see the unique contribution that medical education can make in addressing these disparities, especially Family Medicine education, and participate in cross-cultural learning and teaching. Students will also have the opportunity to see a wide variety of tropical diseases in a developing country, participate in practice-based procedure education, and consider the role they might eventually play in addressing global health disparities.
- AIC Litein Hospital is a medium-size church-run hospital in Litein, Kenya serving a catchment area of approximately 600,000 people. About 80,000 people have registered AIC Litein Hospital as their primary care site through Kenya’s National Health Insurance Fund. Dr. Matthew Loftus, a University of Maryland ’11 graduate, is the Program Coordinator for the Kabarak University Family Medicine Residency at AIC Litein Hospital. Medical students are welcome to rotate at AIC Litein Hospital, especially those interested in a career in global health. Medical students accepted to rotate at AIC Litein Hospital will spend a week each on Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, and OB/GYN services. All services include daily inpatient hospital ward rounds, outpatient clinics, consultations on other services and in Casualty (the emergency room), opportunities to perform procedures, and at least one overnight call per week. Procedures may include normal vaginal delivery, first assisting on c-sections and other surgeries, paracentesis, thoracocentesis, incision and drainage of abscesses, and lumbar puncture. Kenyan and American faculty members will be available at all times to supervise the student, who will see patients together with a translator. Students will also read from required texts on tropical medicine, East African history, and global health. They will participate in weekly educational sessions with Family Medicine residents and be expected to make one presentation to all of the students and interns at the hospital about a topic of interest to them.
- Prerequisites:
-
Indian Health - FAPH 540
- Prerequisites:
- FAPH 530 Family Medicine Clerkship
- Description:
- The Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The IHS is the principal federal health care provider and health advocate for Indian people, and its goal is to raise their health status to the highest possible level. The IHS provides a comprehensive health service delivery system for American Indians and Alaska Natives who are members of 566 federally recognized Tribes across the U.S.
The IHS employs approximately 15,000 heath care professional, about 900 of whom are physician.
This elective will allow the student to work alongside a physician in an IHS health center for four weeks, with the primary goal of practicing primary care medicine in an environment devoid of many resources found in an academic medical center.
- The Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The IHS is the principal federal health care provider and health advocate for Indian people, and its goal is to raise their health status to the highest possible level. The IHS provides a comprehensive health service delivery system for American Indians and Alaska Natives who are members of 566 federally recognized Tribes across the U.S.
- Prerequisites: