273542 A Multidisciplinary Approach to Global Health Curriculum in an Independent Academic Medical Center

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 1:06 PM - 1:24 PM

Omar A. Khan, MD, MHS, FAAFP , Director, Eugene duPont Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute, Christiana Care Health System & Jefferson Medical College, Wilmington, DE
Christopher Prater, MD , Medicine-Pediatrics, Christiana Care Health System, Newark, DE
John Donnelly, MD , Medicine-Pediatrics, Christiana Care Health System, Newark, DE
Karla Testa, MD , Medicine-Pediatrics, Christiana Care Health System, Newark, DE
Susan Thompson, DO, MPH(c) , Depts. of Emergency Medicine & Internal Medicine, Christiana Care Health System, Newark, DE
Audrey Merriam, MD , Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Christiana Care Health System, Newark, DE
     
Global Health is of increasing interest among medical students and residents. A recent AAMC survey revealed 30% of U.S. medical students had a GH elective in 2006 versus 15% in 1997. In 2007, 67% of pediatric residents surveyed cited a GH elective as a major factor in program choice. Accordingly, residency programs have developed curricula focusing on global health.

Our educational program is placed within the major teaching hospital of Jefferson Medical Collge (Christiana Care Health System- CCHS). The GH Program is an innovative, multi-disciplinary educational program seeking to improve the public health knowledge and skills of interested health professionals through didactic and experiential education.

CCHS launched the GH Program in August 2011. As a multidisciplinary training program, it included heath sciences colleagues from all institutions of the Delaware Health Sciences Alliance. Our program unites residents and faculty from Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Family Medicine and others, with nurses, pharmacists, attending physicians, administration, and other medical staff.

The core curriculum consists of monthly lectures, grand rounds, and a journal club. We also have connections with established GH elective sites abroad. We plan to serve as a foundation for interested residency programs to tailor GH tracks.

In the core curriculum series, our mean attendance was 20 persons (range 11-29) from various disciplines. Standardized evaluations have demonstrated an average increase in topic knowledge of 2.4 points on a 10-point scale after the discussion/lecture. We have demonstrated an effective, locally useful and globally relevant GH program in an academic hospital setting.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Clinical medicine applied in public health
Diversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
1. Discuss the development of a GH curriculum with public health and medical foundations 2. Describe how such a curriculum can be set up with trainee involvement and leadership

Keywords: International Health, Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Experience in the area of GH education
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3243.0: Global Health Education 3: GH in Medical Education