global medicine

[hawa]

Hope some of you could help me on this:
I’m an undergraduate in the U.S., majoring in Anthropology and Biology. I want to go into global health, either as a doctor, or as a public health specialist, working overseas. I’ve been to Tanzania twice for volunteering and research and feel sure that I want to work in underdeveloped countries for a long time.
1st Question:
What is the best MD route for someone who wants to work in poor countries? I’m a good student, GPA 3.6, MCAT 31 (but taking them again), so I know that I have a shot at getting into interesting programs in the U.S. But yesterday I saw information about Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel which, collaborating with Columbia Univ, offers a program geared specifically for international health. (http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/bgcu-md/Gurion.html) It looks to me like a perfect way to get into the field, through multidisciplinary coursework and working with faculty and students with the same interests.
2nd Question:
Aside from having to take the US MLE, is there a good reason NOT to go into a program like this? The competitive side of me cringes at the average MCAT of 27, but I also feel like this is a great opportunity to learn about the things that truly interest me. Are there U.S. programs geared specifically to international health to this extent?

Any comments?

[Cjensen]

I have worked as a “bare-foot” doctor (trained non-formally by surgeons and doctors every day for 3 years in Nepal, Thailand, Fiji, and the Philippines) and suggest that you get into whatever medical school you can…then go.

Another suggestion is to become a registered nurse or family nurse practitioner…if you live in a developing nation, you will end up learning how to do everything an MD does anyway. It comes with the territory…when people are dying and there are not enough licensed people willing to live and work in the conditions that are there, almost anyone that is willing to learn to suture, treat and prescribe is recruited to help the cause.

We are talking about the difference between NO CARE as opposed to someone who cares and may be unlicensed and is wise enough to work within their knowledge and ability. I know this does not set well with American MD’s, but hey, they are not the ones living with the dying people everyday in these developing countries. (I acknowledge that some are, but too few.) Sometimes a little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing….especially when it relieves suffering and saves lives.

Go for it and you will save lives and help relieve suffering, one person at a time. They will be forever grateful for you compassion and efforts.

cjensen

CAJensen

[Author]

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