International Medicine
Global Health Elective – Chogoria Hospital, Kenya
Beginning in 2022, our department created a PGY-3 international medicine elective opportunity in Chogoria, Kenya at Chogoria Hospital. One of our CMC Internal Medicine graduates, Dr. Will Smith, did a 2 year post-residency global health fellowship at Chogoria Hospital and served as the preceptor for the first few rotations for our CMC residents. The partnership continued after his time at Chogoria Hospital finished and now is an ongoing elective site for IM global health. Chogoria Hospital is a referral hospital at the foot of Mount Kenya and serves a large number of people in the region. There are training programs in family medicine and surgery and medical students and interns regularly rotate there as part of their training.
During the global health elective, CMC IM residents work on the inpatient wards and ICU and serve as “junior attendings” after some initial orientation time at the hospital. This provides an opportunity to care for patients and teach Kenyan students while also working alongside Kenyan physicians in a mutual learning environment. Our CMC residents also give interactive lectures during their time at the hospital. There is always on-site supervision for the residents and this is organized by Dr. Chuck Barrier, our Director of IM Global Health. In addition, the setting of the hospital is beautiful and provides opportunities for hiking and even a weekend safari trip. The housing and food are arranged through the hospital in the residential part of the hospital grounds. The CMC residents are able to use some of their CME stipend to pay for travel-related expenses. Each of the residents that have rotated at Chogoria Hospital have loved the experience. They have advanced their own medical knowledge and experience while also working alongside African physicians in a well-respected Kenyan hospital.
Global Health Elective – Tenwek Hospital, Bomet, Kenya
Beginning in 2018, our department created a PGY-3 international medicine elective opportunity through a partnership with Tenwek Hospital in Bomet, Kenya. Tenwek Hospital is one of the largest mission hospitals in Africa and serves as one of the leading teaching and referral hospitals in the region. Tenwek is situated in the Western Kenya highlands where the climate is very moderate. Tenwek Hospital offers training for medical students, interns, nursing students, laboratory technicians, pharmaceutical technicians, orthopedics, and chaplains. In addition, Tenwek Hospital provides post-graduate residency training for doctors in family medicine and surgery.
During this global health elective, residents are offered a crash course in rare and tropical diseases and have an opportunity to hone their teaching skills by serving as a "junior attending" for the local house staff. Residents participate in teaching conferences and multi-disciplinary rounds with a team that consists of interns, residents, medical students, and nurse practitioners. On-site supervision and instruction are always present and are often provided by one of our Department of Internal Medicine faculty members. This is organized by Dr. Chuck Barrier, our Director of IM Global Health who has extensive experience in international medicine. Our residents are provided all meals and dormitory-style housing on the campus throughout the rotation. Moreover, our residents may use their CME stipend fund to help cover some of the associated travel expenses. Every resident that has participated in this global health elective has reported that it was an incredible experience!
Global Health Elective – Mbingo Baptist Hospital, Cameroon, Africa
Beginning in 2015, our department partnered with Mbingo Baptist Hospital in Cameroon, Africa to offer our PGY-3 residents a month-long global health elective opportunity. Mbingo Baptist Hospital is an academic teaching hospital that serves as a cornerstone for population health for citizens of the stunning mountainous region of northwest Cameroon. Similar to our other global health experiences, our residents are provided dormitory-style housing and all meals on the Mbingo campus throughout the rotation. Residents may use their CME stipend fund to cover associated travel expenses. Mbingo Baptist Hospital has internal medicine and surgical residency programs for African physicians and has been providing this training for over 15 years.
This global health site is currently on hold given some civil unrest in the region, but we hope to be able to have residents work there again in the future.
Global Health Longitudinal Course
In collaboration with the ED and Pediatric departments, we are now offering a 2-year global health longitudinal course. This course includes lectures from global health experts, small group work, simulation center activities, and journal clubs. Upon successful completion of the course, our IM residents will receive a Certificate in Global Health to signify the extra training they have received. This course has been offered for many years as a 2-week intensive course, but was converted to a 2-year longitudinal course in 2024 to allow more involvement of residents and students. Those that took the course in the past have enjoyed the global health focus and we expect this to only continue in the current format. The hope is that this course will inspire and motivate IM residents to continue supporting global health work in their future careers.
Resident Testimonials: Global Health Electives
“During the month of October, I traveled to Kenya to work as a short-term medical missionary at Tenwek. Dr. Barrier and my wife, Dr. Elizabeth Gunn, accompanied me. The overall experience was much more impactful to my professional and spiritual development than I had ever imagined.
My initial impression of the community and the hospital was that there was clearly a major need for healthcare resources and providers. The hospital doorsteps were crowded with hundreds of people hoping to be seen for their various illnesses. The hospital staff were very welcoming. We were greeted each morning with local bread and chai tea. I was able to work alongside other missionaries and medical professionals from all over the globe. We individually led a group of medical and clinical officers in caring for our patients in the medical wards and intensive care unit. I helped care for patients with tuberculosis, advanced AIDS, parasitic infections, and various toxidromes. Despite the overall mortality rate of 30% of those admitted to the medicine service, we saw many patients fully recover. There was no shortage of gratitude. Our work was very much appreciated, and we all felt the impact of our service.
Despite most of our time being spent at Tenwek, we were able to explore the beautiful landscape of Africa. On my first weekend there, we traveled to Mount Longanot, a stratovolcano with a trail along its crater. Most of the medicine team traversed around the volcano and recorded a 14-mile hike. Later in the month, my wife and I traveled to the Masai Mara to go on safari where we saw lions, cheetahs, hippos, and even rhinos. We visited with local communities and tried many new foods (which were all delicious). Lastly, we invested time in developing relationships with our Tenwek community which was truly the most impactful. We all had a great experience, and my time in Africa will never be forgotten.”
- Dr. Cory Gunn, Class of 2019
“Having a longstanding interest in global health, I had hoped that this elective would provide an opportunity to expand my medical knowledge base, learn the basics of practicing medicine in a resource poor country, gain exposure to rare and tropical diseases, experience a foreign culture, help to further the education of foreign medical students and residents, and allow me to travel this beautiful and diverse planet that we call home. Needless to say, my experience at Mbingo did not disappoint!
Our program’s partnership with Mbingo Baptist Hospital offers a unique opportunity to experience global health at its finest. The hospital and its infrastructure allow even short term medical missionaries to have lasting impacts on the local medical community and population. Most importantly, the experience forces us to remove our rose-colored glasses, dive head first into a foregin culture, expand our knowledge base, and challenge our understanding of the world in which we live and our individual role within it.”
- Dr. Todd Gandy, Class of 2016
