ELECT EGLOB - Global Health Elective

This elective is a four week block in western Kenya. Students will see patients in mobile clinics approximately 30-40 hours per week under the direct supervision of LSU Health faculty members. A Kenya health care team will also be present at each clinic to offer assistance. Each student will see 10-20 patients per day. They will take histories with assistance of translators, perform physical exams, make a clinical diagnosis and develop a treatment plan for each patient. The method of instruction will be the same preceptor model used in the Comprehensive Care Clinic on the LSU Health campus. A hand written clinic note will be generated for each patient and the data from the clinics will be compiled on an Excel spread sheet to document the experience.

Detailed policies regarding allowed activities, travel restrictions, and other safety measures as approved by the office of risk management will be completed by each student.

Goals:
To provide medical training in global health for students at LSU Health Shreveport. To sharpen participants’ interviewing and physical exam skills, and their understanding of cost-constrained care, while nurturing cultural sensitivity and demonstrating the importance of public health. To foster health career development for LSU Health students interested in global health and the care of underserved populations in the US. To encourage ongoing collaboration between students and a wide array of health professionals working to improve global health through education, research, and service.

Objectives:

• Students will enhance their medical history and physical examination skills as the provider of first contact for 10-20 patients a day under the supervision of LSU Health faculty.Minimum contact hours per week: 30.
• Students will gain skills in the use of a medical translator for gathering historical information and for communicating with patients who speak a different language.
• Students will enhance their clinical decision making skills by learning to effectively manage patients with minimal reliance on expensive technology and pharmaceuticals commonly used in the teaching hospital.
• Students will develop greater cultural sensitivity, and an appreciation of diverse customs and life experiences.
• Students will observe and discuss the interrelationship between health and infrastructure, culture, politics, and economic stability in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Students will be able to outline common hazards to international travel, and will strictly follow established safety guidelines.
• Students will gain knowledge and skills in the identification and management of common tropical diseases.
• Students will demonstrate their ability to find, organize, and effectively present medical information on a selected topic to their colleagues.

• Participating faculty
• Hands-on experience
• Computer Assisted Instruction: Medical Informatics
• Directed readings

Each student will be required to prepare and give a presentation to the group during the elective on a tropical medicine topic. Students will choose from a list of topics selected by the faculty prior to the elective. Particular emphasis will be placed on malaria, typhoid fever, and other common diseases seen in Western Kenya. 

Students will be required to prepare a reflective essay that describes their experience and addresses one or more topics from a list of options.  

The final grade will be pass/fail

Offered: Block 8 and 10

Pass/Fail