South, Southeast and North
Asia
Educational Opportunities in International Health
Photos: James Smithson and Antje
Herlyn
(UCSF MS4s only)Office of International Programs, UCSF
Deadline: August 1, 2008
Every spring, four UCSF students are given the opportunity to visit the
Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) in Beijing to complete eight weeks
of observation on clinical rotations. The exchange program provides round-trip
airfare between SFO and Beijing, housing, and a stipend for
incidentals. For more information visit our PUMC
page or contact the Office
of International Programs.
BJU, a full service, bilingual hospital with a developed outpatient department,
offers UCSF students an opportunity to work with doctors and patients
from all over the world, and to tailor their experience based on their
interests. Rotations of one month or longer are available. Opportunities
for Mandarin speakers are available to learn and practice medical terminology,
but Mandarin is not required for this rotation. The rotation is organized
by Dr. Evelyn Fang, Assistant Clinical Professor in the UCSF-Fresno Medical
Education Program, who is working long-term in BJU's primary care department. More>
(UCSF MS4s only)
Office of International Programs, UCSF
Deadline: August 15, 2007 for Mar 3-Apr 27, 2008 program
Through the generosity of alumnus Dr. Raymond Tom and Irene Kwok Tom, the UCSF School of Medicine provides a student exchange program with a leading southern Chinese medical school, Sun Yat-sen University of the Medical Sciences in Guangzhou. In March and April 2008, Sun Yat-sen will host two fourth-year UCSF medical students for clinical rotations. Students participate in an educational program designed to orient them to traditional Chinese medicine as well as to clinical medicine as practiced in the People’s Republic of China. Travel expenses and stipend are provided. Note: one month of vacation time must be used to complete this exchange program, because only one month of clinical rotation credit is available despite the program length of eight weeks. Cantonese language skills are not essential, but students with such skills will have opportunities to use them. Cantonese language classes may be available at the host university. To apply, send your resume and completed application form with a description of why you are interested in participating in the program. Applications must be received by the deadline by the Program Assistant at the Office of International Programs. For questions, contact Victoria Ruddick or Professor Thomas Novotny.
The Ministry of Education in Taiwan through
the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco
Deadline: March
The goal of this scholarship is to encourage students in the US
to study in Taiwan. Each recipient will be awarded a monthly stipend of
NT$25,000 (about US$746) to study Chinese for up to a year. Applicants
must concurrently apply to a Chinese language center or one of the universities
in Taiwan for instruction. More>
China Beijing International Acupuncture Training
Center
A unique four-week international elective on Acupuncture and Traditional
Chinese Medicine (TCM) is offered in April and July in 2007 in Beijing,
China. This course will take place at the China Beijing International
Acupuncture Training Center (CBIATC), a WHO collaborating center on traditional
medicine. In order to help learners acquire the basic skills and knowledge
in acupuncture and TCM, the course combines morning acupuncture clinical
practice and afternoon didactics. Students will also have the opportunity
to learn Tai Chi, Tui Na (massage), and basic conversational Chinese.
English translators accompany all of the educational activities; thus,
knowledge of Chinese is NOT required. Beijing, the capital of China, is
an ancient city undergoing major transformation. Living in the center
of the city, you will have an easy access to many of the historical and
cultural sites. 125 medical students over 30 U. S. medical schools have
participated in this elective for credits over the past four years. More> Please contact Jun James Mao,
MD via email at or call 215-321-4986.
Volunteers accepted year round.
Located in Jiaozuo, Henan Province, the Special Care Unit is an infant
palliative care unit set up to care for orphaned babies that have severe
deformities and are not expected to live. The unit is staffed by Hope
Foster Home employees with oversight provided by a resident foreign medical
volunteer. The mission of the unit is "to comfort always, to relieve
often and to save sometimes." Two week minimum commitment. Food and
lodging provided. Travel to China not included. For more information,
visit the website
or contact Dr. Joyce Hill at joyce@hopefosterhome.com.
Deadline: Rolling
GSC is a nonprofit international volunteer organization running service-learning
opportunities in Thailand. Programs are offered in a variety of fields
including public health, international health, HIV/AIDS, and rural medicine.
Students also participate in homestays with local families while working
hand-in-hand with local counterparts. Programs are of varying lengths
and are offered year round. More>
MediCiti/ICHHA
Deadline: Rolling (for rotations any time besides in April and May)
Students do clinical work for four weeks or more under the supervision of accredited preceptors at MediCiti, 40 km outside of Hyderabad. Students have the opportunity to see a variety of medical problems and illnesses not often seen in traditional Western training, and students learn to make the best use of scarce resources to provide critical services to the underserved. Staff are available to serve as interpreters and to assist students in general. Lodging is provided on site. Applicants must provide a letter of support from the dean and a personal statement/letter about how this experience will further their education. For more information see the MediCiti site or the ICHHA site (under Rural Program), or contact vyeldandi@reshealthcare.org or miidridirector@hotmail.com.
The Himalayan Health Exchange organizes medical/dental camps in the remote Trans Himalayan regions of north India and Indo-Tibetan Borderlands. Participation is open to physicians/residents, dentists, pharmacists, nurses & medical, dental, public health, and nursing students. Each trip is designed to provide care to approximately 1,500 underserved patients and an opportunity for international health exposure to participants. Student participation on each trip is limited to 30. Participants are responsible for arranging their own funding to meet expedition costs and must be willing to put in a minimum of 6-8 hours of clinical work, each day, for the duration of each clinical period. Contact Ravi Singh (info@himalayanhealth.com), phone (404) 929-9399 for more information. The application can be found on the website: www.himalayanhealth.com.
Students interested in global health, HIV/AIDS, human rights issues, LGBT
issues may be interested in volunteering with Humsafar, the first NGO
in India to work on a grassroots level with HIV/AIDS prevention/safe sex
information dissemination. They are located in Mumbai (Bombay) and operate
two clinics and a drop in center where they provide STI treatment, HIV
testing and psychological counseling. Their website http://www.humsafar.org/
is in the process of being updated. Contact Viraj Patel for more information.
Deadline: March
Each year, MedicIndia selects 8-10 first-year medical students for a six-week
summer service fellowship at the New Civic Hospital in Surat, Gujarat,
India. Fellows spend their time rotating through various specialties,
such as general surgery, pediatrics, rural health care, and psychology.
The program's philosophy is rooted in the desire to provide increased
health services to a developing community and to provide a unique, transformational
experience to fellows. Please visit www.medicindia.org
for more information.
Unite for Sight is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization providing international medical opportunities to help restore eyesight and prevent blindness in African, Asian, and Latin American countries. All persons over the age of 18 are welcome to apply, including premedical students, medical students, public health professionals, doctors, corporate professionals, nurses, graduate students, retired professionals, and others. Short and Long Term volunteer opportunities for physicians are available as well. Contact JStaple@uniteforsight.org or www.uniteforsight.org for application and details.
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