Welcome to the Global & Underserved Health Senior Experience (R3/R5) and Electives page

Overview of the GUH Senior Experience and of GUH Electives:

The Global & Underserved Health Senior Experience is a unique opportunity for third year residents (and R5s for FM/Psych residents) available in our residency.  R3 (or R5) residents are able to spend up to 4 weeks in an underserved international or domestic setting. Past residents have travelled and worked in Guatemala, Tanzania, Cameroon, Cambodia, Haiti and much more.  Domestically, residents have worked on policy in Washington DC, or provided clinical care from rural Ohio to an IHS Navajo Area Indian Health Service.  It is an amazing opportunity!

Residents can select from predesigned experiences or elect to create their own Global Health, Health Policy, or Underserved Senior Experience. A $2000 stipend is available for all approved Experiences (see details below); Experiences for which the $2000 stipend is requested should generally be a minimum of 2 weeks/10 working days in length.  The resident is responsible to make appropriate arrangements for the rotation, but the Global Health Team faculty (Dr. O'Dea (International), and Dr. Kiesler (Domestic Underserved and Health Policy)) are available to provide guidance and must provide approval.  All Experiences must be approved by the GH Team faculty by July 1 (preferred) and no later than 90 days prior to the Experience.  Following all off-site/stipend-receiving Senior Experiences, a GUH Senior Experience Project must be completed (see checklist below).

With approval from Dr. Rich, R3/R5 residents may elect to opt out of the GUH Senior Experience and choose a non Global & Underserved Health elective.  Approval will be on a case by case basis.

In addition to the GUH Senior Experience, residents may participate in additional Global & Underserved Health Electives, if approved by Dr. Rich and ACGME requirements allow, through the "Create Your Own" elective page (See: /create-your-own/).  Residency stipends are not available for GUH Electives additional to the required Senior Experience. 

Objectives of the GUH Senior Experience and of GUH Electives: 

  1. To gain experience working in an underserved area, whether international or domestic

  2. To develop understanding of the health system of another country or site

  3. To increase understanding of diagnosis and treatment of tropical diseases and diseases of poverty

  4. To develop skills in practicing in a low resource setting

Benefits:

  • $2000 in travel expenses from the department (The resident is responsible to confirm that his/her rotation/site qualifies for reimbursement prior to confirming the rotation and/or incurring expenses related to the rotation. Generally, all rotations needing airplane travel should involve a minimum of 2 weeks/10 working days. See also Agreement/NPA under requirements).

  • Cross-cultural and language development experience

  • An opportunity to synthesize and apply the Global Health learning from your first two years of residency

Recommended Experiences:

Recommended international sites/experiences (See link below for more complete listing and details) that may be available include:

  • TCH/UC FM Residency GH Guatemala (Nov/Feb/Apr/Jul) - R3/R5s are encouraged to join the Guatemala/Wuqu Kawoq trip and work as a participant or with a special focus such as research. This experience also offers the opportunity to fulfill the Global Health International Scholars Program scholarship requirement.

  • VLOP Tanzania - Participate in a clinical group field experience (outpatient; offered annually) or as an individual for a combination of outpatient and inpatient experience at Shirati KMT Hospital and/or Roche Health Center. Village Life Outreach Project was founded by former UC FM resident Dr. Chris Lewis and closely partners with UC. See www.villagelifeoutreachproject.org for more information. For recommended rotation information for an individual (non-VLOP-group) click the following: Overview and site options / Helpful rotation tips.

  • MMC Cambodia - A 3-4 week experience in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Recommended specifically for those interested in long-term medical (Christian) mission work. Led by Dr. Collins on an interest/availability basis.

  • Clinical Care & Medical Spanish, Guatemala - Arranged by Dr. O'Dea, with Pop Wuj

  • Wuqu Kawoq Clinical Care, Guatemala - Arranged by Dr. O'Dea for fluent Spanish speakers only

Recommended domestic sites/experiences include:

  • Indian Health Service (IHS)/Native American Health Arizona - A 2-3 week experience for those interested in Native American healthcare and IHS. Sites are on the Navajo Reservation in Gallup, New Mexico, Chinle, Arizona, and Shiprock, New Mexico, Crownpoint, New Mexico, and Kayenta, Arizona. This must be approved by Dr. Rich with at least 6 months in advance.

  • Poverty, Justice, and Health - Arranged by Dr. Kiesler. See elective page: /poverty-justice-and-health-ele/. Usually in May. Contact Dr. Kiesler for more information.

  • Rural Health Rotation - May be available in rural Ohio counties within 1-2 hrs of Cincy. See elective page: /rural-medicine-elective/.

  • Medical Spanish at UC - This can be done longitudinally or in a two week block. Arranged by Dr. O'Dea. See elective page: /spanish-elective/.

  • Health Policy Elective - See elective page: /health-policy/. Contact Dr. Kiesler if interested.

  • HIV/TB/ID - Arranged by Dr. Kiesler (see ID Elective), with Dr. Lamare in the past (TCH outpatient ID office plus inpatient consultations). Experience at Hamilton County TB Control can typically be mixed in as well, if desired.

  • Latino Health - Arranged by Dr. O'Dea at Roberts Academy in Price Hill. For residents proficient in Spanish only. Roberts Academy is a Cincinnati Public School (CPS) for K-8 students, the majority of whom are English language learners (with primary language for most being Spanish).

  • Student Health & Travel Medicine - Overseen by Dr. Mike Holliday at UC Student Health.

  • Wilderness Medicine: While there are many options, our faculty have done experiences through the National Outdoor Leadership Society. They have a specific course for health care professionals called the “Wilderness Upgrade for Medical Professionals.” Contact Dr. Andrea Rosado if interested.

Click here for a more complete listing of current pre-arranged, recommended, or other rotation experiences:  GH Senior Experience & Elective Rotation Options. 

Requirements for GUH Senior Experience:

  • STEP 1: A GUH Senior Experience Request Form should be submitted to Judy and to the GH faculty. Click here for the GUH Sr Experience Request Form. (The Proposal, which is automatically emailed to Judy and our GH faculty, will ask for information including: Rotation goals, Site and contact information, Setting (hospital, clinic, field, etc), Structure of the elective (will you be seeing patients all day, taking call, working on research, etc), Supervision (who will be your supervisor, what will your contact be with the supervisor), Learning Goals, and Capacity building (how will you give back to the community in which you are learning? Are there ways you can offer expertise or skills to the local health professionals or community?))

  • STEP 2: Once approved, for all off-site rotations, please complete a Non-Provider Agreement, due at least 90 days before your rotation.

  • STEP 3: Prior to ANY purchases (plane tickets, etc), a UC Travel Reimbursement Pre-Approval must be submitted and approved. BEFORE you purchase your flights, you must complete a form for pre-approval. Maggie has these forms. The approval process may take extra time for traveling out of the country, so complete these forms as soon as possible and definitely BEFORE purchasing flight tickets. (All expense receipts for the travel/trip must be submitted within 30 days of when the expenses were incurred and must be itemized. If the expenses were placed on a credit card, the credit card receipt must be submitted as well.)

  • STEP 4: Prepare for a safe, healthy time. For overseas travelers, address the following: pretravel health consultation, DOS registration, and travel insurance. See your doctor (or an FMC colleague) for a pretravel consultation to ensure you're up to date on immunizations and have the prescriptions you need (malaria, traveler's diarrhea, etc). Also, please register with the Department of State so that you will receive updates regarding your destination (Visit the Smart Traveller Enrollment Program at https://step.state.gov/step/ and create an account). Finally, make sure you have coverage for medical emergency care overseas, including evacuation (and preferably coverage for loss of luggage or flight cancellation due to emergency/illness). See this Consumer Reports review to learn more about travel insurance. For a list of recommended, well-priced, cheaper insurances, see this review from 2016. To shop for travel insurance, insuremytrip.com is recommended.

  • STEP 5: Represent TCH/UC well. Once at the site, you are a representative of the program and your country. It is expected that you arrive on time, work diligently and respectfully within the culture. Residents who do not act accordingly put future partnerships in jeopardy.

  • STEP 6: Complete your GUH Senior Experience Project, which is due within 2 months of the completion of your rotation. See details here: GUH Experience Project. Previous projects are listed below.

  • STEP 7: Remember to turn in all travel expense receipts WITHIN 30 DAYS of the expense. ee STEP 3 above.

  • STEP 8: 10 FMC half-day patient care sessions need to be made up during the rest of the year. Residents may do this through an elective, scheduling extra evening shifts, or ending your GH month a week early (or starting it a week late) to work in the FMC. The resident is responsible to contact Judy to schedule this.

Requirements for the GUH Elective:

Here's advice from a former chief resident, Dr. Gina Cano, on her recommendations for planning your Senior Experience or Elective. 

Projects from previous GUH Senior Experiences and of GUH Electives:   (LISTED FROM MOST RECENT TO OLDEST)