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International health course prepares students for experiences by Cindy Abole Public Relations The face of health care is rapidly becoming more global. With communities becoming more diverse, students pursuing a career in medicine and health care specialties show more interest and seek guidance in the areas of global health issues and international medicine. As a result, health care institutions across the nation are responding to this trend.   At MUSC, students and faculty have collaborated to develop interdisciplinary health education programs and experiences to help students understand the health needs and problems of people from diverse cultures and socio-economic settings as they enter practice in a wide range of health experiences.   “Our students need to know how to interact, communicate and work in global context with people from a variety of backgrounds,” said Andrea Summer, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics. “We live in a global society and students need to know that regardless of where they practice, they need to be aware of global health issues and health challenges.”      With the threat of an avian flu (H5N1) pandemic, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and a range of infectious diseases spreading across the globe due to increased transcontinental transportation, more health professionals need to understand these emerging threats and other international public health issues.      This area of medicine has been a magnet of Summer’s interest for the last five years. Summer is certified in clinical tropical medicine and parasitology by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Guided by her commitment to global health issues and a passion for helping others, Summer has worked with fellow faculty members to organize campuswide efforts to meet these growing needs.      Since 2003, the institution has offered an elective course, “Topics in International Health and Tropical Medicine,” as part of an annual seminar series for MUSC students. The course was presented in multiple presentations throughout a semester and featured university faculty and public health guest speakers to address issues in international health, cross-cultural medicine, maternal-child health, sanitation, malnutrition,  community health care, and tropical infectious diseases.   A total of 77 students from all six colleges have participated in the course and received credit. Other students, internal medicine and pediatric residents also attended the seminars. Recently, interested faculty attended the course and received continuing medical education credit.   In 2003, Summer initiated a clinical medicine rotation elective between MUSC and Selian Lutheran Hospital in Arusha, Tanzania. This 120-bed facility provides full-service care for more than 55,000 East African outpatients per year. The hospital provides care in several specialty areas including medicine, surgery, OB/GYN and pediatrics. Today, students and pediatric residents can participate in a rotation there and gain valuable clinical and cross-cultural experiences.   “Many pediatric residents express interest in an opportunity like this,” Summer said. “It’s a benefit to our department [Pediatrics] to be able to offer this elective. It makes our program more attractive.”      Third-year pediatric resident Lisa Gallo, M.D., just returned from a month-long pediatric rotation experience at Selian Hospital. Because the hospital does not have a full-time pediatric attending physician, Gallo served as the hospital’s most experienced pediatrician to assist in treating young patients.      In addition to working with patients and staff, Gallo completed a clinical project that helped educate staff and contribute to patient care. Gallo created a protocol for the management of diabetic ketoacidosis patients, which can be fatal for type 1 diabetes patients if left untreated.      “This was a great learning experience for me as a resident,” said Gallo, who helped in various capacities from caring for neonates in the OB/GYN ward to assisting with emergencies. “It helped me prepare to be a leader and provided me the opportunity to make sound medical decisions on my own.”      Meanwhile, limited funding support and suboptimal faculty participation have hampered the ability to offer the International Health and Tropical Medicine course to students. Since global health is inherently multidisciplinary and collaborative, Summer believes that the course complements the interprofessional learning environment that MUSC is currently emphasizing and hopes that it will be formally incorporated into the curriculum and receive more support in the future.     “Such educational activities and overseas electives can be profound experiences for students or residents,” Summer said. “For some, it can influence their career choice. Students who participate in such experiences are far more likely to choose a public health-related field or to work with underserved populations. It’s an important reason why we should support this. Many young people enter health care extremely passionate about global health. It is our challenge as faculty to nurture this commitment and promote its expression.”     Friday, sept.8, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.