UCSF Global Health Clinical Scholars Program: Orthopaedic Residency
The UCSF Global Health Sciences program has initiated a project to develop leaders in global health in various clinical specialties called the Global Health Clinical Scholars Program (GHCSP). The goal is to educate physicians-in-training with the skills necessary to partner with educators and health care providers in underserved areas of the world to bring about sustainable improvements in healthcare. The GHCSP is designed to provide training and experience in global health issues for selected residents from participating departments. Residents who wish to participate in the program apply by submitting a resume and personal statement, which are reviewed by a multidisciplinary selection committee. Those selected for the program initially attend a three week long course of lectures and seminars during which time they meet other participants in the program. This course of study focuses on subjects such as health economics, cultural competency, comparative health systems, principles of public health, infectious diseases, nutrition and malnutrition, and refugee and disaster medicine, to name a few. Seminars, lectures and web-based learning continue during the ensuing years of their residencies. Each scholar selects a research mentor and designs a hypothesis-based research project as a requirement for completion of the program. Clinical scholars are expected to spend at least a month in the region where their projects are to be undertaken. At the completion of residency, each clinical scholar will receive a certificate indicating successful completion of this specialized course of study.
Orthopaedic Surgery and the Global Health Scholars Program
The UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is focusing educational effort in the field of global health by taking part in an inaugural UCSF Medical School initiative to prepare future physicians for leading roles in research, development, education and outreach in this field.
Starting with the resident class of 2010, one member of each class will be designated as the department’s Global Health Clinical Scholar. This individual will participate in an educational program that is being coordinated by the Global Health Sciences program at UCSF.
The objective of the program is to facilitate and provide resources for the Global Health Scholar to pursue an area of concentration within global health related to the field of orthopaedic surgery. In pursuit of this goal, the scholar will take a series of courses in public health, participate in seminars with scholars from other departments and around the world, and carry out research in partner institutions in developing countries.
The courses that are being planned for the participants will focus on subjects such as health economics, cultural competency, comparative health systems, principles of public health, infectious diseases, epidemiology, nutrition and malnutrition, and refugee and disaster medicine, to name a few. Each orthopaedic Global Health Clinical Scholar will work with a mentor within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery to develop a project pertinent to a musculoskeletal health problem in a developing country, and will spend a period of time pursuing this project in that country.
By participating in The Global Health Sciences Clinical Scholars Program, the UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is hoping to train a new generation of surgeon-leaders for the global community, whose focus will be to research and address disparities in health care both at home and abroad.