any MDs interested in global health? which SOMs are global health-oriented?

While most medical schools would prefer that you practice in the States for your career, many have opportunities to go abroad. Through my interviewing/med school research experience, I felt the following were particularly strong at global health.

UWashington
Boston University
Tufts University
Tulane University
Hopkins
Duke
NYU/Mount Sinai
UC's are pretty good (UCSF, UCLA, etc.)
I'm sure some of the Ivy leagues (Columbia, Penn, Cornell, Harvard are good too)- I am guessing though b/c I for sure don't know anything about these

These are just some, I'm sure there are many more. Almost ALL schools allow you to do foreign roations; however, some schools have much more availability than others....

Cornell has had the most impressive global opportunities of any school I've interviewed at. They have a lot of programs across the world, and offer any interested student $3k to pursue such opportunities. Emory seemed really good as well. Students who go abroad during their research time usually find faculty to accompany.

Pitt has a decent amount of people go abroad for their first summer. Vanderbilt does as well, although they're unfortunately turning away some interested students this year because of a really high interest among the first years. I forgot how many they're giving funding to, but I want to say it's 25?

I asked a lot about global health stuff during my Sinai interview and was satisfied with the answers. However, a student (2nd year, I think) quietly told me that their program isn't as impressive as they make it seem and to check out the details for myself. She seemed particularly irked about the lack of programs in South America.

George Washington University is also an option.

streudels said:

those are all very good schools. unfortunately my gpa is not very strong, and though my experiences throughout college have been quite substantive and diverse, i still need further exposure in global health. i was thinking of doing an internship with a global health-oriented organization in the US or abroad not only to learn more myself, but to also strengthen my application and show my commitment and interest in this field. would schools take this into consideration?

Click to expand...

Your extracurriculars are VERY strong and may compensate for your GPA (Depending on your MCAT). My GPA wasn't that strong either, but my extracurriculars helped me get interviews at schools that were above my league.

You can get more diverse experience if you would like. But I would concentrate on studying for MCATs and doing really well in it. I think many schools (not the IVYs though) would look past your gpa with your EC's and solid MCAT.

Good luck, I think you will do well. Make sure to write a strong personal statement/secondaries

alibai3ah said:

While most medical schools would prefer that you practice in the States for your career, many have opportunities to go abroad. Through my interviewing/med school research experience, I felt the following were particularly strong at global health.

UWashington
Boston University
Tufts University
Tulane University
Hopkins
Duke
NYU/Mount Sinai
UC's are pretty good (UCSF, UCLA, etc.)
I'm sure some of the Ivy leagues (Columbia, Penn, Cornell, Harvard are good too)- I am guessing though b/c I for sure don't know anything about these

These are just some, I'm sure there are many more. Almost ALL schools allow you to do foreign roations; however, some schools have much more availability than others....

Click to expand...

You forgot two big ones: Albert Einstein and Ohio State.

this is sort of an aside, but would you sound like an idiot if you said you were interested in global health but only spoke english fluently?

gujuDoc said:

Well at the moment a person may speak a single language but I'm sure they would learn if they really wanted to work with people who didn't speak English. In fact, people use medical school to learn medical spanish if it is latin american or spanish speaking countries they are wanting to go to. Being able to speak one or 2 languages doesn't mean you can't work elsewhere? i have friends who are bilingual but they are not fluent in spanish or some other african language. Who is to say they won't learn if they end up doing that in the future i.e. going to latin american or african nations? You cant just make such random statements like they are an idiot if they don't already have those skills..

Click to expand...

Seems like a pretty relevant question, to me.

amine2086 said:

You forgot two big ones: Albert Einstein and Ohio State.

Click to expand...

In your 4th year, you can do 2 fully-funded global health rotations anywhere...they'll set them up for you. You can even convince them to let you do a 3rd one if you want.

Paul Farmer didn't participate in any global health programs.. he just lived and volunteered in Haiti between med school exams, studying throughout it all!

Evergrey said:

Paul Farmer didn't participate in any global health programs.. he just lived and volunteered in Haiti between med school exams, studying throughout it all!

Click to expand...

Yea well not all of us can be as amazing as Paul Farmer. Amazing Man.

Ohio state and GW seemed to have the best global health programs i saw. If i remember correctly, 65% of Ohio state students go abroad at some time during med school.

I was actually disappointed in the lack of global health programs in UCLA, they don't even have an office for it.

streudels said:

How'd he pay to go to Haiti?

Either way, how does one get information on global health programs at specific med schools? Do you just have to look through their website, contact them personally, or are these first-hand experiences? What other ways can you show that you're interested in global health medicine (I mean, I know some ways, but I'm just curious to read what others have to say) despite a crappy GPA?

(nothing against the Caribbean MD folk, but I'd like to do my best to stay in the mainland)

Click to expand...

IIRC, he just went to Haiti and then found ways to live there. I have no idea how he afforded airfare. I should look into that!

Tatertots said:

Yea well not all of us can be as amazing as Paul Farmer. Amazing Man.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I wanted to be like him after reading his biography! Then I realized that I can't be like him since he's only part human, and mostly machine. Still, very inspiring man! I feel much more confident about donating to PIH than I do to other nonprofits.

Yea, Paul Farmer is the Man!!Very inspiring life story..

cbs21 said:

this is sort of an aside, but would you sound like an idiot if you said you were interested in global health but only spoke english fluently?

Click to expand...

A more relevant question would be how much experience do you have working/volunteering in developing countries or in the context of global health and international development. You can't really "know" you are interested in global health as a career until you have spent some significant time in that context. The "idea" of global health sounds exotic and adventurous, but the "reality" of it is very different. It is a worthwhile and needy field, but it's a lot messier, more difficult, and more boring once you are on the ground. So if you don't have that experience, definitely get some.

alibai3ah said:

While most medical schools would prefer that you practice in the States for your career, many have opportunities to go abroad. Through my interviewing/med school research experience, I felt the following were particularly strong at global health.

UWashington
Boston University
Tufts University
Tulane University
Hopkins
Duke
NYU/Mount Sinai
UC's are pretty good (UCSF, UCLA, etc.)
I'm sure some of the Ivy leagues (Columbia, Penn, Cornell, Harvard are good too)- I am guessing though b/c I for sure don't know anything about these

These are just some, I'm sure there are many more. Almost ALL schools allow you to do foreign roations; however, some schools have much more availability than others....

Click to expand...

Global health is a *big field*, meaning that you certainly do not need to go to a medical school with a so-called "global health" department to get into the field. I know someone who went to BU for their global health program as was very disappointed, as the director in charge of the program didn't/doesn't care to really help some students to do international health rotations.

Point being, you can do an international rotation out of any medical school in the U.S., no problem at all, don't select a medical school based on perceived ability to help you do global health work, you can get these opportunities on your own. There are other schools like John Hopkins, Emory and Indiana U. which are great for global health but aren't mentioned. Remember global health work is done after residency, don't daydream that if you go to a med school with a supposedly solid international health department that this means that you will automatically get a meaninful experience or any help at all, some schools sort of false advertise themselves this way, or if your not connected at the school then you zippo-help and you're on your own.

If you are interested in global health then:

1. Setup a global health rotation yourself in the summer between first and second year, i.e. in Honduras or somewhere like that. Make connections and then maybe come back for a clinical rotation as a fourth year or a resident.

2. Remember that the big international health scholarships like the Fogarty fellowship, etc. . . are available to students everywhere, you may at an advantage coming from a med school with a supposedly smaller IH department. Remember, if you got to a school with a lot of global health interested students, you will get significantly less advisor time from the main international health department. However, if you have a specific research focus then follow that desire and go to a school with this focus, whether or not there is an official global health department.

streudels said:

That's what I'm actually curious about, is to what extent these GH programs in med schools help their students get involved in global health medicine. Do they merely provide summer rotations, or is there an integrated GH curriculum (that includes aspects of public health, human rights, medical anthropology, etc)?

OR -- am I just better of pursuing global health from a different career (e.g. public health, law). Though I still am very interested in becoming a medical practitioner but I know my reach wouldn't be as wide if I worked on a one-to-one patient-doctor level as opposed to a more widespread level (e.g. if I was an academic physician maybe?). I've gotten information that it's a lot better for foreign doctors to come in and build local capacity to sustain clinics/hospitals in the long run, as opposed to coming in and bringing a certain medical expertise only to leave as soon as a program/relief effort ends.

Click to expand...

There is a lot of naysaying when it comes to what is "best" in global health, i.e. a doc who just goes for two weeks can do as much as someone who starts a clinic. Not exactly true, I would say that there are different levels of commitment, and ALL levels are needed. There are hospitals in central america that are staffed by volunteer physicians rotating every month there, yes they need short term docs and the place couldn't run without them.

Look at what you want to do, i.e. direct patient care versus public health (which you can do very well with a preventive medicine residency post medical school). Don't look at what you think, or were told, is most helpful as many, many places are resource poor and a doc who can volunteer a month out of the year consistently can do a lot of good.

Great question about how much support is provided. I will give two examples based on my experience and the grape vine:

1. Indiana U. , they have a partnership with Kenya and I know students who have rotated in Kenya as students and as residents at IU. So yes, there is good global health experiences to be had here. If you want to go to Kenya then look at this school. There may be a waitlist to do the rotation, but they have excellent faculty that are committed and excited about this program. However, there are also many students at IU that won't have done the Kenya rotation so for them there isn't anything especially "integrated" about the medical school, in terms of global health. But remember, once you have a medical degree and complete a residency you are a doc and can after a couple years experience do a stint with doctors without borders or something like that.

2. Boston University. There is some talk about global health, some in-school rotations are in European countries and some have had very few students. They are spread thin in this regard, i.e. no special relationship per se beyond a superficial knowledge of international rotations. Is it worth going there "for global health" no way, IMHO. Based on experiences of friends, there is nothing special per se about the rotations offered, meaning that often time you setup your own rotation and try to convince people to let you do it, you may not get a lot of support.

Global health is not integrated into med school curriculum much anywhere as what you need to learn in the first two years is pretty much dictated by the boards. If you are a motivated student you can pretty much at any med school setup almost any international health elective and do it during a summer, or better yet, during fourth year, and you can go to the yearly globaly health conference from any school. No problem there.

In the end you have to do your due diligence, but some schools, like BU, tout global health to applicants but don't have strong relationships abroad like IU, and with reason you will be disappointed. Go to a med school because you like the curriculum, professors, school, not based on perceived global health programs, unless you find a gem like IU. These days, 85 percent of schools have at least a nominal international health or global health program.

Evergrey said:

Yeah, I wanted to be like him after reading his biography! Then I realized that I can't be like him since he's only part human, and mostly machine. Still, very inspiring man! I feel much more confident about donating to PIH than I do to other nonprofits.

Click to expand...

I really respect Paul Farmer, but from reading his book, I wonder if such great success can only be achieved at the expence of having a good family life? He only sees his wife once in a while when they happen to be in the same country.

While I agree that you should not choose a school based solely on its strength in global health, I disagree that all schools are similar in that regard.

There are certain schools where it was obvious (during my interview experience) that they didn't have any connections to outside hospitals or had very little global health opportunities. Sure it's possible for you to arrange something (all medical schools allow that), but it is difficult to do all that work and not worth it. It's much better to go to a school that is well-established in the field and that sends tons of kids abroad every year.

Also in terms of integrating it within the curriculum, I'm sure that most schools have certain electives that allow you to do that. But if you want in depth knowledge of global health, I would recommend doing an MD/MPH. I also believe GWU had a global health track (MD only) when I interviewed there.

Personally if you are genuinely interested, I would apply to MD/MPH programs. You obviously have to have some experience in a global setting, but from the OP's ECs I'm sure he/she won't have a hard time getting in

Evergrey said:

Yeah, I wanted to be like him after reading his biography! Then I realized that I can't be like him since he's only part human, and mostly machine. Still, very inspiring man! I feel much more confident about donating to PIH than I do to other nonprofits.

Click to expand...

Haha I had a similar revelation.

streudels said:

Thanks for the comments, though I do receive mixed replies on whether my cGPA and especially my sGPA is actually salvageable through a good mcat score and my ECs. this is why i wonder whether i should beef up my app more by getting more valuable experience in the global health field (though i'd do it anyway).

Click to expand...

You can PM me if you would like. My numbers weren't great either. But I had plenty of global health experience and unique EC's (although yours are even more impressive). I can give u some advice on how to go about it with a low gpa and good ECs.

As someone who applied with a similar background (low 3's GPA and a strong interest in global health), I thought I would throw UT San Antonio in there. I've been really impressed with the number of opportunities so far (medical trips, 4th year rotations, clubs, etc).

That being said, it quickly became apparent that trying to "practice" global health in medical school is impossible. Rotations, summer electives, et al are definitely fun, but they aren't the same. Personally I'm in a joint MD/MPH program with a global health focus that is, temporarily, satisfying my interests.

UTMB in Galveston, Texas has a Global Health Track:

http://ctih.utmb.edu/education/edu_global_health_track/ght_curriculum.aspx

UTMB also has a "Global Health Track" that I'm probably going to get into once I'm there.

All students enrolled in UTMB's School of Medicine are eligible to apply for the GHT. Students should demonstrate a strong interest in global health issues, and be able to participate in all the required activities, including overseas electives. To remain in the track, students must successfully complete each required activity as outlined. Students who complete the track will be eligible to sit for the Certification Exam in Tropical and Travel Medicine through the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Full certification by ASTMH requires a medical diploma and a license, so cannot be completed until after graduation.

website/curriculum

Edit: Darn it, DrHiner! You beat me to it.

7starmantis said:

Edit: Darn it, DrHiner! You beat me to it.

Click to expand...

What can I say? Great minds think alike!

streudels said:

Unfortunately I'm not a Texas resident.

Click to expand...

Ah, that does make it more difficult since Texas heavily favors their residents, but I believe they accept 10% OOS. Not great odds, but just saying. Good luck to you in your application cycle!!

gujuDoc said:

Well at the moment a person may speak a single language but I'm sure they would learn if they really wanted to work with people who didn't speak English. In fact, people use medical school to learn medical spanish if it is latin american or spanish speaking countries they are wanting to go to. Being able to speak one or 2 languages doesn't mean you can't work elsewhere? i have friends who are bilingual but they are not fluent in spanish or some other african language. Who is to say they won't learn if they end up doing that in the future i.e. going to latin american or african nations? You cant just make such random statements like they are an idiot if they don't already have those skills..

Click to expand...

I was actually referring to myself...

DrSmooth said:

A more relevant question would be how much experience do you have working/volunteering in developing countries or in the context of global health and international development. You can't really "know" you are interested in global health as a career until you have spent some significant time in that context. The "idea" of global health sounds exotic and adventurous, but the "reality" of it is very different. It is a worthwhile and needy field, but it's a lot messier, more difficult, and more boring once you are on the ground. So if you don't have that experience, definitely get some.

Click to expand...

I do have a fair amount of experience. I've been to Central America 5+ times and if time permits I would like to go again. But the thing is I can't speak Spanish very well so I was thinking would I sound stupid if i claim to be interested in it yet have not made the effort to learn the language? If that makes sense.