Ochsner Health is a system that delivers health to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi and the Gulf South with a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate.
The purpose of the Global Health curriculum option as part of the Medicine in Society (MIS) rotation is to train students with an interest in global health in the practice, research, and study of health and its determinants. The goal of this venture is to help equip future physicians with experiences that may be applied to improve health equity worldwide. This opportunity is designed to provide students with a more thorough experience in global health, aiding in identifying the challenges of health care in low-resource settings and exposure to diverse methods of health management.
The rotation is intended to provide medical students the opportunity to understand and experience the benefits and challenges of clinical practice amongst population groups and/or in communities that face access and equity challenges associated with health service delivery. It will provide students with a global view of clinical medicine which will contextualize how factors such as poverty, geographic isolation, socio-economic status, religion, culture, ethnicity, as well as political matters can adversely affect the health of individuals and populations. The course will emphasize the potential benefits, risks and concerns associated with international healthcare work as well as the regulatory requirements necessary to safely execute such work. The medical students who participate in this rotation will develop a keen understanding of the link between poverty, disease and education.
Specifically, placement in Haiti will give students one perspective of the benefits, responsibilities and the sociopolitical dilemma of providing global aid. Despite Haiti’s proximity to the more prosperous U.S., the nation has suffered from sequential natural disasters that resulted in years of instability. It is widely known that large international aid organizations that came to help Haitian communities in the wake of the 2010 earthquake have failed in their mission by causing long-term damage to the region. Medical students will learn about the Haitian Revolution, Haitian medical beliefs, Haitian culture, and current political events. This knowledge will be relevant in learning the process of medical mission planning and caring for patients in Haiti. The Haiti rotation provides valuable experience and opportunity for medical students to learn to provide meaningful humanitarian aid work while limiting harm done while in country and after the medical team has returned home.
The rotation this year will be held in the southern part of Haiti, which as you know was devastated by Hurricane Mathew in October 2016. Prior to the Hurricane it was one of the most plush and beautiful areas of the country with a totally different landscape and topography when compared to the North. If you can imagine, this area is even more remote then Mayaya and even more difficult to get to. FONDYLSAHH has been providing humanitarian, medical and financial support since then. We have established a relationship with Centre De Sante De Moron in the commune de Jeremie, Department De La Grand’ Anse. The community of Moron was impacted by the storm and the clinic, which is under the auspices of the Haitian Ministry of Health, has partnered with FONDYLSAHH for support and to rebuild the area. This experience will be fundamentally different from the experience Centre De Sante De Mayaya. We will be attempting to again support the local community by attempting to purchase all medications, supplies and goods locally to help the local community. We have provided employment and support services through FONDYLSAHH to the community and again emphasize the importance of involving the local communities with whom we partner.
The importance of partnering with local authorities for guidance to ensure that our activities are consistent with the goals and objectives of the Ministry of Health of Haiti i.e. Ministere De La Sante Publique Et De La Population, the Hononarable Dr. Florence D. Guillaume. The educational objectives of the Medicine In Society Rotation are in complete alignment with the Minister’s comprehensive Plan Directeur De Sante 2012-2022 published in October 2013.
Students are responsible for preparing a peer-reviewed journal article which discuss one of the following topics and presenting at a weekly Journal Club lead by Dr. Nnedu.
Students will be provided cases with only basic patient information and chief complaint (in Creole). Students will take into account research reviewed throughout the course and work together to construct a likely:
While also taking into account the limitation of resources in Haiti in comparison to typical practice in New Orleans. Students will be expected to develop at least three differential diagnoses with rationale and ranked based on likelihood.
Students are responsible for composing a review article of a common cause of mortality in their country of interest as described by the CDC. This article should identify the disease, causes of the disease, reasons why this country is of increased risk, and review potential interventions to address this burden of disease in this country. Students should review public health research, interventions and problems making headlines in print and television media and develop a proposal. Discussion of how the problem is presented and evaluated will take place and students will discuss alternate approaches. Parallels should be drawn between patient populations, disease burden and barriers to health care in Haiti and locally in New Orleans. Commonalities in challenges of global and local health should be discussed.
Course activities: brief presentations, short written assignments, class participation.
Ex: Haiti
Student proposals will have the potential for implementation on their trip or future trips.
At the end of each trip, students should collectively work together to write a paper reporting on their experiences in country. Topics should include location, patient populations, frequent treatments/procedures, a comparison to previous trips as well as details on any special intervention implemented the year of their travel.
Haiti:
Students are required to complete scheduled sessions in OBGYN clinic, Excelth Clinic, ED, infectious disease clinic, primary care, palliative care, MedVantage, and Urgent Care. You will also complete venipuncture training, iStat training, and a laboratory tutorial.
Clinical Duties: You will share clinical duties with your fellow classmates and rotate between stations in pharmacy, laboratory, clinic, and triage. It will be your group’s role to divide the responsibilities amongst yourselves.
Other: You will be responsible for managing and updating the EMR and debriefing with your fellow classmates after each clinic day.
The learning objectives facilitated through Global Health student experiences are: