Global Health Opportunities

A resource for "Global Health Opportunities for Students & Residents"

Click here to download a 6-page PDF document that provides hyperlinks to various websites that may be useful to medical students and residents who are interested in global health.

The document is provided courtesy of Prachi Godiwala (UMass Chan Class of 2015) who started this document as a medical student. The document was developed for attendees of the annual 1-day conference on global health for medical students and residents, hosted by the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) in January 2015.

The document provides information about the following topics

• Getting started
• Finding an international elective
• Funding an international elective
• Preparing for your international elective
• Further professional training
• New England medical and dental school websites

• 2-week elective with Surgicorps International, a non-profit organization providing surgical care in developing countries

For over 20 years, Surgicorps International has been establishing long-term relationships with facilities and providing free surgical care to people in various developing countries. Surgicorps International strives to improve the lives of patients.  It also provides volunteers with the opportunity to improve their medical skills, build relationships with people despite possible language barriers, and learn about the practice of medicine in a different country.

This 2-week elective (typically held in August of each year, for one UMass Chan 4th year medical student) consists of one week in Guatemala followed by a second week of writing and reflection. During the first week in Guatemala, the student will typically have the opportunity to participate in surgical cases covering four areas: craniofacial, hand, general, and gynecological surgeries. During the week of writing and reflection, the student will create a presentation of an interesting case encountered on the trip and will write a brief paper about his or her experiences. Please see the course overview for additional details. 

• The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship in Lambaréné, Gabon

The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship selects four senior medical students to spend three months working as Schweitzer Fellows at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon on clinical rotations. Fellows work as junior physicians, supervised by Schweitzer Hospital medical staff. Fellows generally spend the full rotation on either the Pediatrics or Medicine service.

This three-month immersion requires that students have a functional fluency in French, as all patient encounters occur in French. To learn more about Fellowship Requirements, visit this page that details timing, pre-requisites, and desired skills & experience. 

Conferences

• Mass Medical Society's Annual 1-day Global Health Conference for medical students & residents
  
  
• Annual Meeting of the Consortium of University for Global Health (CUGH)

Since its inaugural meeting in 2008, in 2015 this annual meeting was attended by approximately 1,400 people (including approximately 500 students). The meeting brings together committed leaders, professionals, educators, students from divers fields of study including engineering, business, law, policy, natural sciences, nursing, public health, medicine, and environmental studies to explore, discuss and critically assess the global health landscape.

• Annual Unite for Sight conference, held at Yale University, Connecticut 

 Other Opportunities

• UMass Chan Global Health Fellowships 

updated 5.25.2021PSC