Global Health
The Internal Medicine residency has had an international rotation in Bolivia for over 10 years, which was originally developed by professor emeritus Mark Molitch, MD, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology. The rotation is based at the Centro Medico Susan Hou clinic located in Palacios and the Hospital Japones in Santa Cruz. Through clinical and didactic experiences, residents care for patients in both urban and rural locations, and see and treat patients with conditions such as Chagas' disease and its relation to heart failure, malaria, Dengue fever, snake bites, anthrax and yellow fever. Due to the high number of Spanish-speaking patients who receive care at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, this rotation is an excellent introduction to cultural competence as well as tropical medicine.
In 2014, the department began a Global Health Clinical Scholars program under the direction of Ashti Doobay-Persaud, MD, that was designed specifically for busy residents looking to learn and pursue careers in global health. The program is a competency based global health curriculum that covers foundational topics in global health taught by NU experts, journal club, simulation and scholarly projects. In conjunction with the clinical scholars program, an additional international site was added for Internal Medicine residents in Belize called the Hillside Healthcare Clinic.
The success of global health at Northwestern extends into research opportunities in infectious disease, cardiology, surgery and oncology, among others. A post-residency fellowship program at Northwestern began in 2015. Additionally, residents are eligible to explore opportunities for global health research training through the HBNU Fogarty Global Health Training Program. The investment in global health has allowed Northwestern and our residency to both contribute to global communities and provide residents a life-changing education. Browse the links above to learn about the fantastic experiences offered through the Bolivia and Belize clinics and visit Center for Global Health Education to learn about its robust curriculum. Visit Havey Institute for Global Health to learn more about the institute or go directly to the McGaw Clinical scholars program.
Dr. Elisha Singer (class of 2018) and Dr. Namita Jain (class of 2019) working at Hillside Clinic in Belize that serves local residents and villages in the surrounding area.
