Global Opportunities for UC Community

We have quarterly Global Health Advisory Council Meetings and monthly Global Health Grand Rounds that are open to all UC Community Members. Contact Keisha Easley at Easleykh@ucmail.uc.edu to get involved!

Global Opportunities for UC Students 

Medical students considering any international experience should contact UC International for information on planning their time abroad and to learn about various forms of financial support.

Global Health Electives

There are several electives under which students seeking global or international medical education activities may register:

Family Medicine 060138 -Global Health Care Guatemala OP 

This four-week elective is offered to fourth-year medical students, as well as other health professional students and residents. The elective combines a field experience in Guatemala with didactics in global health in Cincinnati in February of each year. During the field experience, participants offer field clinics in low resource, underserved villages in rural Guatemala. The course is team-taught and interactive, focused on care of vulnerable populations in domestic and international settings, and utilizes the social determinants of health as a framework. This course can be taken for ICE credit. Interested individuals should contact the elective director, Dr. Evan Onusko: onuskoee@ucmail.uc.edu or Sarah Jadeed: jadeedsh@ucmail.uc.edu

Family Medicine 060139 - Global Health Care Tanzania OP

This four-week elective is offered for fourth-year medical students, as well as other health professional students and residents. The elective combines a field experience in Tanzania with didactics in global health in Cincinnati. During the field experience, participants offer field clinics in low-resource, underserved villages in rural Tanzania through Village Life Outreach Project. The course is team-taught and interactive, focused on care of vulnerable populations in domestic and international settings, and utilizes the social determinants of health as a framework. This course can be taken for ICE credit. Interested individuals should contact the elective director, Dr. Rebecca Fujimura:  fujimurl@ucmail.uc.edu or Keisha Easley: easleykh@ucmail.uc.edu.

Family Medicine 060140 - Global Health Indian Health Service Elective

This four-week elective is offered to fourth-year medical students. Students will work one on one with a US board-certified physician at an Indian Health Service (IHS) Site. Students will work in a limited resource setting which provides care to an underserved population from a different culture. This culture has often suffered historical trauma and continues to manifest the consequences of this trauma in their healthcare outcomes. At present there are four sites on the Navajo Reservation which will accept UC College of Medicine medical students: • Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility • Gallup Indian Medical Center • Shiprock – Northern Navajo Medical Center. Students will do a mix of inpatient and outpatient work based on preferences and future career goals. Students will have direct clinical / patient care time of at least 35-40+ hours per week. This clinical time will all be face to face patient interactions. They will participate in the care of patients as a member of the health care team at the site. This course can be taken for ICE credit during any block except the block in which Match Day falls. Interested individuals should contact the elective co-directors Dr. Shanna Stryker: strykesa@ucmail.uc.edu and Dr. Rebecca Fujimura: fujimurl@ucmail.uc.edu.

Medical Education 280179 - Global and International Medical Education:

Fourth-year students who wish to work with an established partner, such as Refugee Health Alliance, Child Family Health International, or another approved organization, may receive two or four weeks of elective credit through this course. All rotations must be approved by the course director. If the partner organization is not an established partner, both the course objectives and travel itinerary will need to be reviewed and approved in advance. Electives may also be taken for ICE (Integrated Clinical Experience) credit if the experience meets the required criteria. Interested students should contact the elective course directors, Dr. Shanna Stryker strykesa@ucmail.uc.edu and Dr. Rebecca Fujimura: fujimurl@ucmail.uc.edu.

Family Medicine 280131 - Medical Spanish / Latino Health:

The Medical Spanish/Latino Health elective is offered to eligible first year medical students and is a four-year longitudinal experience. Students will receive fourth year elective credit for the coursework, which consists of online Spanish language training during year 1, an intensive medical Spanish course during the summer between years 1 and 2, evening didactic sessions and Spanish conversation groups during year 2, standardized Spanish patient encounters, and service learning opportunities in the local community and abroad. Interested individuals should contact the elective director Dr. Brittany Almarez:  jacobsbt@ucmail.uc.edu.

Family Medicine 060142 - Foundations in Global Health (Global Health Longitudinal Elective)

This is a longitudinal elective that students will enroll in during the fall of their M1 year. Participants will attend monthly Global Health Grand Rounds throughout the second half of their M1 year and into their M2 year. During the M1 year and the summer between the M1 and M2 years, students will complete asynchronous modules focused on the foundations of global health. In the M2 year, they will receive training in asylum medicine and observe a forensic medical evaluation of an individual seeking immigration legal relief. Students are also required to spend two weeks abroad working with an international partner in either Guatemala or Tanzania. Students will apply for the elective and, upon acceptance, will join either the Guatemala or Tanzania cohort, with four spots available for each country. Students are responsible for covering their own travel-related expenses, although a small scholarship may be available through UC International. Interested students should contact the elective directors, Dr. Shanna Stryker: strykesa@ucmail.uc.edu or Dr. Rebecca Fujimura: fujimurl@ucmail.uc.edu, for additional information.