Outside Opportunities


In addition to UC Davis, there are many other independent Global Health learning opportunities that can enable students to work with different patient populations, develop cross-cultural understanding, and learn about health systems and approaches to medical care in other nations.  Listed below are just a few to review and research.

  •  Flying Samaritans, Mother Lode Chapter of Flying Samaritans
    This Student Interest Group (SIG) is in place to organize medical students interested in participating in weekend clinic trips to Baja California with the Flying Samaritans, Mother Lode Chapter. The SIG will raise funds, publicize the organization, facilitate student participation, and act as a liaison between UC Davis School of Medicine and the Flying Samaritans international organization.
  •  CMF Honduras: Christian Medical Fellowship (Honduras)
    UCDSOM medical students have the opportunity to travel to Honduras, with the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA) and Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF) student group at UC Davis School of Medicine. A team of about fifty medical students, physicians, nurses, and dentists participate in a week-long medical mission trip to Honduras, partnered with MedMissions, the Christian Medical and Dental Societies of Honduras and the local church to provide medical, dental, and spiritual care to several local villages. This experience serves a medical mission with evangelistic outreach to the Hondurans, but also a spiritual outreach to many medical students who serve.

From the home base located in Siguatepaque, Honduras, students and their teams travel to schoolhouses whose classrooms are converted into “clinics.” As patients rotate through the various rooms, the teams provide general medical care, dental work (cleanings, root canals, extractions), reading glasses, medication and perform minor procedures.

  • Internships with the World Health Organization - WHO Health and Human Rights
    The health and human rights branch of the World Health Organization offers unpaid internships in the following areas: 1) developing and applying a rights-based approach to health in WHO; 2) advancing health as a human right; 3) supporting member states in applying a rights-based approach to health. Interns participate in different activities depending on interest and skills. If you are interested in doing an internship with the health and human rights team, please send a cover letter and a CV to the direct contact for your respective area of interest.
  • UCLA Global Fellows Program
    Deadline: February 20 of every year
    The UCLA International Institute will appoint up to eight new Global Fellows per academic year, to commence residence on September 1, of every year. Fellows will be drawn from the arts and humanities (including literary studies and philosophy), the natural sciences (including engineering, medicine, and public health), and the social sciences (including law, public policy, and management). There is no citizenship requirement. Appointment as a Global Fellow will carry an annual salary of up to $50,000. Applications and nominations should be submitted on-line by the deadline.
  • Rotary International's Ambassadorial Scholarships
    Applicants for Academic-Year ($23,000 scholarship) and Multi-Year Ambassadorial Scholarships need to carefully research five preferred study institutions and be willing to attend any of those five institutions. Sometimes candidates have difficulty researching their choices and feel limited to choosing one or two popular universities, but the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation are often unable to accommodate such requests. 
  • Jewish Medical Ethics & Israel Summer Experience Program 
    The New England Institute of Jewish Studies, in coordination with the Schlesinger Institute and Shaare Tzedek Medical Center.  This four-week summer program based in Jerusalem, Israel, combines the study of medical ethics, Jewish thought and tours of Israel to give medical students an overview on contemporary issues facing the Jewish people. The medical portion of the program includes hospital rounds. Students may apply to the Maimonides Scholars Fellowship to cover most of the Program's costs.
  • International Directory of Reproductive Health Opportunities for Medical Students 
    ARHP works to improve reproductive health by strengthening medical education and health care services worldwide. The directory contains information on 43 sites in 29 countries and includes reproductive health statistics on each listed country. Medical students interested in gaining international medical experience in reproductive health, women's health, and family planning services should take advantage of this resource. 
  • The American Medical Association (AMA International) 
    Lists volunteer opportunities in global health. The AMA published a two-volume work on global health service. Written by Edward O'Neil Jr., MD, Awakening Hippocrates serves as a primer on health, poverty, and global service. The second volume, A Practical Guide to Global Health Service offers a database of worldwide volunteer medical opportunities as well as practical information on volunteer medical service, world travel, and cultural issues.
  •  GHEC Global Health Education Consortium
    Organization focused on international opportunities for medical education with online library and annotated list of international health-related websites.  GHEC is a consortium of faculty and health care educators dedicated to global health education in North American health professions schools and residency programs. Founded in 1991 as the International Medical Health Education Consortium, IHMEC met an evident need, membership rapidly grew, educational products were developed and the annual conferences were well attended. In 2005 IHMEC changed its name the Global Health Education Consortium, the new name reflecting the consortium's desire to include other health professions besides medicine and a preference for the more inclusive term of 'global' over the traditional one of 'international.'

GHEC members are active in more than 70 health profession schools and training programs in the United States, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean. The GHEC mailing list includes more than 700 physicians and medical educators, with other health disciplines to be increasingly involved."

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