Holiday Greetings from the Director

2018 Holiday Newsletter

Global Health education at Weill Cornell is very much alive and thriving. We continue to expand our network of partners around the world, including new agreements with National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, University of Zaragoza School of Medicine (Spain), and Yonsei University College of Medicine (South Korea). Our 2017 partnership with the Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences in Bhutan continues to be a very popular elective with Weill Cornell students. In addition to participating in clinical electives, our students find time to climb to the Tiger’s Nest (elevation 10,000 feet), a sacred site in Bhutan and one of the most challenging monasteries to get to.

In addition to experiencing the delivery of healthcare in places quite different from Weill Cornell Medicine, many of our students have gone abroad to participate in research projects. One student spent several months at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India researching how palliative care is provided to end-of-life patients. Another student worked on a clean water project in rural Tanzania and his work has led to ongoing student involvement, which is just terrific. A third student is spending a year in rural Guatemala working on maternal and child health projects, and another student spent four months at the Weill Bugando Medical Center in Mwanza, Tanzania working with a Weill Cornell faculty mentor on a hypertension project.

These are just a few examples of what our students are doing and they all come back enriched by the experience and grateful that our global health education program provides the funding for this opportunity. For this we thank our generous donors. Special thanks to benefactor Barbara Slifka for her continued generous support of our global health education program. Her 2018 gift is much appreciated. This year I endowed a global health fellowship in honor of my parents. The Lorraine and Ralph Lubin Global Health Fellowship will fund one student in 2019. Without such financial support, our global health education program would be quite limited.

Our global health curriculum continues to attract a substantial number of prospective medical students to Weill Cornell. The Director of Admissions tells me every year that the global health program is a huge draw for prospective students. In addition to the opportunities to take electives abroad, our global health curriculum offers more than 100 hours of didactic and hands-on learning. In particular, the Global Health Area of Concentration enables interested students to complete their Scholarly Project (independent research project) at a foreign institution.

Looking back, this past year was filled with new opportunities and accomplishments. Support from

our students, faculty, and especially our donors enables this wonderful program to flourish. In the

following pages we share with you some of the highlights of 2018.

Warm holiday greetings and best wishes for a happy, healthy 2019.

Madelon L. Finkel, Ph.D.

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As we approach our tenth year anniversary, we reflect on the great evolution of our program. Since 2009, we have demonstrated the importance of integrating global health into both the pre-clinical and clinical components of medical education through a multi-disciplinary program focused on education, clinical field placement, and collaborative research. We are constantly striving to prepare students to address complex, multi-disciplinary health issues in the US and abroad in new and innovative ways. This year, out

of 106 students of the Class of 2022, sixty-seven members attended the annual Global Health

Orientation, where they had the chance to learn about the curriculum and how to become involved in global health activities during their time as medical students.

14 students out of the 107 members of the Class of 2018 received Certificates in Global Health. This

certificate recognizes students’ dedication to global health education both in the field and on campus.

Certificate in Global Health

The Global Health Curriculum is in its 10th Year!

“Providing students with a glimpse of the challenges people face across the world is one of the most rewarding outcomes of this excellent course.” -Survey Respondent

15 students in the Class of 2021 completed the

Introduction to Global Health elective during the Spring of 2018. This weekly student and faculty-designed elective is comprised of a mix of lectures and case studies, providing a rich introduction to current issues in global health. The objective of this elective is to establish knowledge on global health core competencies, develop problem-solving skills and learn multidisciplinary approaches to addressing global health problems.

22 first-year students enrolled in the Global

Health Preceptorship this past Fall. This program provides students with the opportunity to shadow physicians who work in underserved areas of NYC. The objective of this program is to expose students to culturally diverse populations, illuminate healthcare disparities, and illustrate how physicians provide care to vulnerable populations.

“The Global Health Preceptorship helped me understand the need for doctors who can understand patients’ symptoms within their cultural and socioeconomic context.” -Survey Respondent

Introduction to Global Health Elective Global Health Preceptorship

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The Office of Global Health Education welcomes Katharine-Grace (KG) as its 2018-2019 Global Health Teaching Associate. KG, a 2018 Cornell University graduate, was a pre-med student and has a rich background in global health. She participated in an international field experience in Moshi, Tanzania studying the intersection of gender and health. She plans on attending medical school next Fall.

Meet our Global Health Fellow

Global Health Career Seminar Series

“Career seminars have introduced me to physicians that have built sustainable careers in global health. Identifying with these physicians has strengthened my resolve to incorporate global health into my future practice.” -Survey Respondent

Throughout the academic year, the Office of Global Health Education hosts several Career Seminars. These roundtable discussions enabled students to meet physicians who have incorporated global health into their career. Eric Brumberger, MD, led the first seminar of the 2018-2019 academic year. He discussed his time working as an Anesthesiologist in Punjab, India and his global health course at the Cornell Ithaca campus. Josyann Abisaab, MD, an emergency medicine physician, discussed her work with Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan.

Dr. Josyann Abisaab and a student at a global health career seminar discussing how her work with Syrian refugees began.

Global Health Journal Club

The Global Health Journal Club is a popular student initiative. Once a month, students meet to discuss an article on a timely global health topic. Through short student presentations, key concepts are reviewed and discussed by the group. The Journal Club is a excellent way to educate students about a global health issue and illustrates diverse ways in which global health work is carried out in the field of medicine.

The Global Health Grand Rounds is a lecture series that serves as a platform for dialogue on contemporary global health challenges. Last Spring’s Grand Rounds speakers included Donald G. McNeil Jr., a New York Times Science and Health Reporter, who spoke about the many years he has covered diseases affecting the world’s poor — from the Zika virus to nuanced global health issues. This Fall we welcomed Natalia Kanem, MD, MPH, Executive Director of the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA), who spoke on “The Power of Choice: a noble cause or a (real) change of paradigm for women and girls”. These events are open to the public. Please join us!

Global Health Grand Rounds

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Global Partnerships: Highlights in Photos

Bhutan Delegation Dinner

Thai Delegation

Drs. Madelon Finkel, Estomih Mtui and Julius Kauki at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center in Moshi, Tanzania.

Colleagues Drs. Roger Duviver & Madelon Finkel discussed cervical cancer research and student engagement.

H.E. Ambassador Doma Tshering, Permanent Repre-sentative of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the United Nations, and guests including Drs. Daniel and Sonam Rosberger, who endowed the Bhutan elective and students Shobana Ramasamy and Brandon Sumida who will take the elective in Bhutan in 2019.

Deans from Chulalongkorn University visit the Office of Global Health Education to reaffirm the exchange program.

Our program is built on collaborative partnerships across the globe. These partnerships allow our students to learn about healthcare delivery in different settings. We are very grateful to the faculty, students and institutions that make this collaboration possible.

Visit to Guatemala

Visit to Tanzania

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Our Visiting International Clinical Electives Program is an excellent way for foreign medical students to obtain exposure to world-class medical care provided at Weill Cornell-NY Presbyterian Hospital. In 2018, 510 students applied for a clinical elective slot, and of this 155 were accepted into the program. Students are in their final year of medical college and participate in a wide range of clinical electives. We welcomed students from Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. The visiting students spend up to two months completing their elective.

In keeping with the strong student interest in the global health program at Weill Cornell, five students of the Class of 2021 went abroad to four different sites this past summer: Prithvi Mohan (Vellore, India), Andrew Eidelberg (Vellore, India), Elena Beideck (Cusco, Peru), Yili Zhao (Geneva Switzerland), & Sarah Caughey (Puttaparthi, India). The students participated in a variety of clinical observations, research, and community health projects.

“I truly cannot express in words what this summer experience has done for me. I found myself wanting to read my textbooks and learn more about things I was seeing in the hospital, and every patient I saw motivated me a little bit more and forced my perspective constantly.” -Prithvi

Prithvi Mohan ‘21 taking blood pressures at a health clinic in Vellore, India

Class of 2021 International Fellows

Health clinic where Elena Beideck ‘21 worked on cervical cancer screening research in Cusco, Peru.

Tara Rajendran visited Weill Cornell Medicine from her home institution of Kasturba Medical College Mangalore, Manipal University, India. In October, she completed the Malignant Hematology elective under her mentor Dr. Ellen Ritchie.

“My rotation in the leukemia subspecialty at Cornell under Dr. Ellen Ritchie, one of the leading Oncologists in the world, shaped my passion towards the hematological malignancies with regard to both clinics and research.” -Tara

Visiting International Students Program

Visiting Student Spotlight

DR. B.H. KEAN CLASS OF 1964 AND

1965 FELLOWS

Simone Elder, Thailand Sasha Hernandez, Guatemala Amelia Kelly, Peru

LYNFORD FAMILY

INTERNATIONAL FELLOWS

Marta Dzyadyk, Costa Rica Eric Kutscher, India Francesco Michelassi, Scotland Pedram Navid-Azarbaijani, France

DR. MILTON B. ROSENBLUTH FELLOWS

Jacqueline Nesbitt Parker, Australia Bao-Thang Anthony Nguyen, Bolivia Andrew Vincent Raikhel, France Amanda Su, Costa Rica

BARBARA SLIFKA

INTERNATIONAL FELLOWS

Michael Dreyfuss, France Solomon Husain, Australia Natalie Wong, Peru

JOAN M. MAY FELLOW

Cecilia Nicol, India

MARIAN AND

JACK BLANKENSHIP FELLOW

Peter Chamberlin, Thailand

DR. BYRANT BARNARD

INTERNATIONAL FELLOW

Elliot Break, Tanzania

IDA S. SCUDDER, M.D. 1899 FELLOW Samrawit Abraha, India

WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION GLOBAL

HEALTH FELLOW

Caitlin Finn, Peru

MAX KADE FOUNDATION FELLOWS

VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Naveen Galla Benjamin Gordon Joseph Koressel Paul Hsin-ti McClelland Neha Nagpal Colin Ogilvie Sarah Paruda Tim Shea

INTERNATIONAL CASE DISCUSSION

FELLOWS MUNICH, GERMANY Richard Ferraro Andrew Melewski Diana Wang

SAMUEL FLEMING AND ROLF FEIN

UNITED STATES EUROPEAN UNION

MEDICAL EDUCATION EXCHANGE

FELLOWS

Alexandra Berman, Scotland Samuel Kim, Spain Fabiana Kreines, Scotland Ariana Levin, Germany

INDEPENDENT GLOBAL HEALTH

RESEARCH FELLOW: YEAR OFF

Katherine Li, China

Thirty-five members of the Class of 2018 took an international elective in their spring term. Funding the

global health program is imperative for its continued success. This past year, we gratefully thank our donors for their support.

To make a donation, please contact Dr. Madelon Finkel at maf2011@med.cornell.edu or (646) 962-8038.

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Congratulations to the Class of 2018 International Fellows

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Class of 2018 International Fellows

Amelia Kelly ‘18 at El Hospital Nacional Docente Madre Niño San Bartolomé Lima, Peru.

Amanda Su ‘18 leading a handwashing workshop for children in San Vito, Costa Rica.

How has your involvement in Global Health influenced your career plans?

“My experience in Tanzania was multifaceted and educational in so many ways. It strengthened my decision to look for and get into a field that will allow me to do as much Global Health as possible.”

“It made me draw parallels to underprivileged areas in America and how I want to work on addressing those disparities at home.”

“I have not only gained a better understanding of what global health is and the needs of certain patient populations, but also have gained insights into how different careers in global health can man-ifest, and what barriers and limitations exist.”

-Selection of Survey Responses

Sasha Hernandez ‘18, working at Saving Mothers in rural Guatemala.

“As I established myself as part of the team on the wards, there were things about the Peruvian healthcare system that continued to surprise me when comparing their healthcare system to ours in America. First of all, HIPPA does not exist in Peru and nobody seems concerned about privacy. On a similar note, there are no private rooms and all patients are discussed in front of all the other patients...” -Amelia Kelley

During the 2017-2018 academic year, thirty-five Weill Cornell Medical Students from the Class of 2018 travelled to fourteen different countries across the world. Taking an international elective is considered to be a wonderful capstone to their medical school experience.

The 2018 Year in Photos

Happy Holidays from the Office of Global Health Education!

Sarah Caughey, Andrew Eidelberg, and Prithvi Mohan, Class of 2021, met up during their time in India this summer.

L > R: Dianne, Maritza, Portia, Madelon, KG & Nicole

Elliot Brea ‘18 & mentors at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical

Center Moshi, Tanzania.

Jacqueline Nesbitt ’18 Parker at the Nepean ICU, Sydney, Australia.

Vincent Raikhel ‘18 at the American Hospital in Paris.

WEILL CORNELL MEDICINE

OFFICE OF GLOBAL HEALTH EDUCATION

402 East 67th Street New York, NY 10065

http://med.cornell.edu/international

Madelon Finkel, PhD Portia Harvey, MBA Maritza Montalvo

Dianne Young, MPH Katharine-Grace Norris

Nicole Jordan

Ex officio Member: Oliver Fein, MD

Twitter: Follow us @WeillCornellGH

Like us on Facebook: “Weill

Cornell Global Health”

The Office of Global Health Education

(OGHE) was established by the

Dean of the Medical College to facilitate

student participation in global health.

OGHE oversees the international

educational programs at Weill Cornell. OGHE also provides visiting

international students opportunities to take

clinical electives at Weill Cornell and its

affiliates.