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Global
AMSA International Health Directory
While not associated with Vanderbilt, the American Medical Student Association's searchable directory of international health opportunities is a great resource for those wishing to participate in global health activities. The directory includes opportunities for dentists, dental students, medical students, MPH graduates, nurses, physicians, and premedical students.
Department of Emergency Medicine at VUMC - International Medicine
The Department of Emergency Medicine at Vanderbilt Medical Center has a very active international medicine program. Each year members of the department lead trips to countries that lack the most current medical technologies or medical practices and assist local care providers in bringing their medical programs up to current accepted standards.
Health Volunteers Overseas
Health Volunteers Overseas places medical professionals in over twenty-five countries to train local healthcare providers in the following specialties: anesthesia and nurse anesthesia, dentistry, dermatology, internal medicine, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthopaedics, pediatrics, hand surgeons, nursing and physical therapy. Most volunteers work for a month, but commitments range from two weeks to long term. Dr. Greeley's work was highlighted in the article "A Different Medicine," found in the Spring 2004 issue of Vanderbilt Medicine.
Finding Work in Global Health
A practical guide for job-seekers or anyone who wants to make the world a healthier place.
Africa
Kenya
Vanderbilt OACS Lwala Health Service-Learning Project
The Vanderbilt Office for Active Citizenship and Service (OACS) and the Vanderbilt Center for Medicine, Health, and Society (CMHS) are cosponsoring a unique opportunity for students to study and help address one of the critical problems that we face in the twenty-first century: the burden of disease and inadequate health services in the poor countries of the world. In the service-learning model, students learn first-hand, working with real people, about the issues they study in the classroom; their work in the field is informed by their academic training. During the service component of this program, students travel to the Lwala Community Clinic, built from the ground up by two Vanderbilt medical students, brothers Milton and Fred Ochieng. Both OACS and CMHS are committed to extending Vanderbilt service and service-learning programs from the Nashville community to the global community.
Nigeria
Nigeria Children's Hospital
(browse to ICHF - Areas of Service, Nigerian Children's Hospital)
Each November, a Vanderbilt/St. Thomas group headed by Dr. James Netterville, MD, director of Head and Neck Surgery in the department of Otolaryngology, travels to Ikot Ekpene, Nigeria, to serve in the Nigeria Children's Hospital, which is supported by a Christian missions organization. They spend two weeks treating both adult and pediatric patients. The group is normally comprised of attending physicians, residents, nurses, and medical students. Dr. Netterville's work was highlighted in the article "A Different Medicine," found in the Spring 2004 issue of Vanderbilt Medicine.
Zambia
Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)
The Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) is a nonprofit organization established in 1999 with the support from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Initially conceived as an infectious disease and maternal-child health research unit, CIDRZ has since expanded its operations to include support to the Zambian government in its fight against AIDS.
In 2004, CIDRZ-UAB became a training site for the Fogarty International Center/Ellison Medical Foundation Overseas Fellowship in Global Health and Clinical Research. Through this program, Zambian and American graduate level students participate in a one-year training program in clinical research in the U.S. and Zambia. In addition, a competitive, funded, 10-12 month internship is available for medical and pre-medical students.
Contact: Sten Vermund, MD, PhD (Vanderbilt)Asia
Cambodia
Friends Without a Border
Friends Without a Border is a Japanese NGO that runs a hospital in Siem Reap, Cambodia, called the Angkor Hospital for Children. Friends Without a Border provides both medical and non-medical volunteer opportunities in the hospital. There are clinical opportunities for attending physicians, residents, medical students, dentists, nurses, therapists, laboratory technicians, and HIV specialists. Dr. Greeley's work was highlighted in the article "A Different Medicine," found in the Spring 2004 issue of Vanderbilt Medicine.
India
National AIDS Research Institute (NARI)
NARI, based in Pune, was established in 1992 to combat the spread of AIDS across India. The Institute conducts multi-disciplinary research involving virology, immunology, microbiology, clinical research, epidemiology, field based trials and social and behavioral research. Since its foundation, NARI has progressively expanded its activities in various aspects of research on HIV and AIDS through infra-structural development, capacity building, and research programs. The present infrastructure includes the Institute housed in a 28024 sq. meter space, residential accommodation for the staff, a power plant to ensure uninterrupted power supply and an incinerator for safe disposal of bio-waste.
During the summer of 2006, two Vanderbilt students traveled to Pune to conduct research through NARI.
Contact: Vikrant Sahasrabuddhe, MBBS, MPH (Vanderbilt)Latin America/Caribbean
Ecuador
Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee
The Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee sends many medical missions teams abroad. Vanderbilt University faculty and staff have been involved in trips to Guayaquil, Ecuador, where they have provided primary care for 1-2 weeks in July. Both medical professionals and students are welcome on these trips.
Guatemala
Primeros Pasos
Primeros Pasos is a clinic located in the western highlands of Guatemala that takes a comprehensive approach towards healthcare, working closely with local schools to combine clinical care with in-clinic education and school-based outreach programs. With the collaboration of Guatemalan staff, rotating Guatemalan medical students, and international volunteers, Primeros Pasos provides clinical care and health education to several thousand students in 12 schools in the rural Palajunoj Valley.
Primeros Pasos is a site for clinical rotations for Guatemalan and foreign medical students. There are Emphasis opportunities available as well as rotations available for 4th year. More information about these opportunities and an online volunteer application are available at www.primerospasos.org. The online application should be completed as soon as possible as volunteer positions fill rapidly, especially during February-August.
Haiti
Haitian Study Group on Kaposi's Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections (GHESKIO)
The Haitian Study Group on Kaposi's Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections (GHESKIO), was officially created on May 2, 1982 by thirteen Haitian health professionals. It was the first research group on human immunodeficiency virus infections (HIV) formed after the Centers for Disease Control recognized AIDS. GHESKIO, through its service and research activities, has emerged as a national and international leader in the fight against diarrhoeal and mycobacterial diseases as well as AIDS and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). From its inception, GHESKIO has been a model of integration with and cooperation among the private, public, national, international, university, and humanitarian sectors. Much of what is known about clinical presentation, epidemiology, and transmission of AIDS in Haiti comes from studies carried out by GHESKIO.
Today, GHESKIO is a reference center for major health problems existing in Haiti and works in support of the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP). GHESKIO's expertise in clinical and laboratory services (at no cost to the patient), training of health care personnel and research has led to a global approach to patient care.
Contact: Peter Wright, MD (Vanderbilt)Peru
Universidad Peruana Caytano Heredia (UPCH) - Global Health Peru Program
The Global Health Peru Program was created by the Universidad Peruana Caytano Heredia to help strengthen teaching and research methods in the growing field of global health. It looks to attract professionals and students from Peruvian and foreign universities who, with the aid of a structured academic model, wish to contribute to improving the health status of Peru and other countries.
Latin America/Caribbean (Regional)
Caribbean, Central and South America network for HIV epidemiology (CCASAnet)
The Caribbean, Central and South America network for HIV epidemiology (CCASAnet) brings together the expertise and resources of Vanderbilt University and clinical and research sites in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Haiti, and Peru.
Contact: Daniel Masys, MD (Vanderbilt)
North America
Nashville, TN
Siloam Family Health Center
Siloam, located in Nashville's Melrose neighborhood just off of 8th Avenue South/Franklin Road, is a faith-based, volunteer-driven, primary care medical clinic that serves patients who lack insurance and who have difficulty accessing health services via a network of volunteer medical professionals and interpreters. Siloam offers medical and non-medical volunteer opportunities. Orientations are held the second Saturday and second Tuesday of each month. Clinical roles include MDs, NPs, PAs, nurses, medical assistants, dietitians, PTs, and OTs. Non-clinical volunteers include interpreters (48% of patients are Spanish-speaking), special projects coordinators, and behavior health care program workers. Volunteers typically work 3-4 hours either weekly, biweekly, or monthly.
Contact: Karen Stevens (Siloam Volunteer Coordinator), 298-5406 x 112
