Global Health Newsletter Fall 2016 PSU COM

N EWS Global Health

CONTEMPLATION • COMPASSION • ADVOCACY

Fall 2016

Second Year Global Health Scholars Spotlight: Peru

Taiwan

Linh Tran: GHS Peru Scholar A short month in Peru allowed me to experience a culture vastly different from my own. Somewhere between getting lost in the Spanish language and the streets of Iquitos, I found my hopes and dreams not only for my future career and who I want to be as a physician, but also how I want to help make the world a (slightly) better place!

Tiffany Yeh: GHS Taiwan Scholar The summer experience I had through the Global Health Scholars Program was awesome as I fully immersed myself in Taiwan’s rich history and culture while learning about the healthcare system of another first world country. Their National Health Insurance program never ceases to amaze me, providing healthcare services for close to 100% of their citizens. One of my favorite experiences while at Taipei Medical University was visiting two of TMU’s affiliated hospitals, and I cannot wait to return fourth year to see what clinical experiences are in store for me.

Marian Poley: GHS Peru Scholar This summer in Iquitos, Peru, I was exposed to a different way of life that was dependent on where everyone’s daily water came from. The Global Health Scholars program has given me the opportunity to explore how socioeconomic factors affect daily life, including access to water, and how this affects young children who grow up in this environment. I was exposed to a different way of practicing medicine; one that focused on providing care to many in a resource limited setting as compare to our resource rich environment. We also got the opportunity to explore and immerse ourselves in many different settings so that when we return in our 4th year, we are better able to provide clinical care. We visited several parts of the Amazon, Monkey Island, Butterfly Refuge, and Cuzco.

Tim Chiang: GHS Taiwan Scholar I traveled to Taipei, Taiwan over the summer to study health systems in a country with a single-payer system. It was interesting to see how differently the day-to-day operations of the healthcare system is organized over there compared to that of the United States due to the differences in the demand and supply of healthcare services. Overall, it was a great learning experience and I look forward to going back during fourth year.

Senegal Kenneth John: GHS Senegal Scholar

Jennifer Bracken, Samantha Docos, and I traveled to M’bour, Senegal this past June with our advisors Rhonda BeLue and Fatou Faye. We spent four weeks shadowing physicians in the local hospital as well as learning about the culture and history of Senegal by traveling to different cities and engaging in different celebrations, such as the end of Ramadan. We also helped set up four medical screening days in rural towns alongside the nurses and doctors from the M’bour Regional Hospital, helping to take vital signs and triaging the hundreds of patients who came seeking medical attention

Zambia

Ghana

Sarah Peiffer: GHS Zambia Scholar I had an amazing and eye-opening experience in Zambia this summer. We had the opportunity to learn about local socioeconomic impacts on health and barriers to healthcare, cultural views on death and dying, and cross cultural communication. This trip definitely increased my passion for Global health and taught me more about how I can be involved in the future.

Becky Koob: GSH Ghana Scholar

Join our Colleagues on #GivingTuesday On November 29, Penn State will participate in #GivingTuesday—a national event to celebrate the power of giving back. Penn State College of Medicine is challenging you to join in. During this one-day-only fundraiser, you can make a gift to any of our programs you’re passionate about, and it will count towards the University’s #GivingTuesday grand total!

Specifically, our campus campaign will focus on raising money for the Jeffries Family International Health Scholarship. The Jeffries Scholarship provides financial support for students who want to travel to Peru, Taiwan, Senegal, Ghana or Zambia as part of the Global Health Scholars Program. There, they serve their community and learn from Hershey mentors and local doctors about compassionate care in a new context.

Thanks to a very generous donor, any gift made on November 29 to the Jeffries Scholarship will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $15,000!

This is a unique opportunity for our staff, faculty, students, alumni, parents and friends to show they care deeply about student opportunity and global health. Your support, at any level, will literally mean the world to our College of Medicine trainees—thank you in advance!

P.S. To direct your #GivingTuesday gift to any other mission area, please visit engage. pennstatehershey.org and select the “Give Today” button. And be sure to share why giving back matters to you using #PSUGivingTue in your social media posts!

I travelled to Ghana with five med students and one public health student where we worked on a public health project focusing on micronutrient deficiencies in the community. While there, I had the opportunity to observe Dr. Foster Amponsah: a phenomenal GI surgeon who has been featured on NPR. His determination to champion his patient’s health above all else and endless dedication inspired me to espouse those values in my own future career-hopefully as a surgeon myself.

UPDATE: Clinical Trips to Ghana, Africa As part of the ongoing partnership between Penn State College of Medicine and MountCrest University, a new medical school in rural Ghana, continued clinical experiences in Ghana are planned for February and March of 2017. During that time, medical and nurse practitioner students, residents, and faculty from multiple departments will be providing clinical care in Koforidua, Ghana. Last year, faculty and residents from Penn State helped create a successful CME Conference at the Koforidua Regional Hospital and another similar CME conference is planned for March of 2017. We are excited to further our collaboration efforts in Ghana and identify opportunities for increased partnership with our Ghanaian colleagues.

UPDATE: MPH Program • The application for the MD/MPH is now open.

The deadline is January 15, 2017.

• Global Health Certificate is coming Spring 2017.

• Online Public Health Certificate is coming Spring 2017.

Penn State Medical and Masters of Public Health Students Travel to Taiwan for Global Health By: Jane Liao and Tony Lin

This past summer, four medical students and one masters of public health student had the unique opportunity to travel to and study at the Taipei Medical University in Taipei, Taiwan, for the month of July. This global health experience had been a long work in the making by Drs. Wenke Hwang, Dean Craig Hillemeier, and Vice Dean for Educational Affairs Terry Wolpaw among other staff and faculty.

research project looking at the use of traditional Chinese medicine within the healthcare system. Scott recalled being “really surprised by how well they [the Taiwanese healthcare system] were able to incorporate both traditional herbal medicine with Western medicine.”

Traditional Chinese medicine was incorporated within the hospital alongside Western medicine and doctors frequently prescribed both types of medicine. From this The students spent four weeks in global health opportunity, Scott Taipei. The first week consisted of a noted that he learned a lot by series of lectures about the history keeping an open mind. of the Taiwan healthcare system These types of experiences are and tours of the Taipei Medical exactly what Dr. Hwang wanted University Hospital and affiliated his students to learn from this clinics. Then, the students were global health adventure. He states, paired with faculty mentors from “as the world and its economies the medical university and spent become increasingly globalized, three weeks working on a research it is critical to consider how we project of the student’s choice. combat diseases and promote Tiffany Yeh and Scott Chung, Class health in a global context. of 2019, are two of four medical Through international health field students who took part in this experience, Penn State University global exchange trip as part of the medical and public health Global Health Scholars Program. students alike will structure their Having used the Taiwanese individual learning objectives medical system in her childhood, including gaining strong cultural Tiffany says that she “saw the competency and a broadened health care system from a patient perspective on health issues point of view but wanted to go facing diverse populations.” on this global health trip to learn how they provide healthcare from a provider’s perspective.” Both Tiffany and Scott worked on a

Dr. Hwang elaborates that “We believe that we are interconnected and interdependent in each area of the globe and that it’s very important to encourage cross culture and country discussion on how to improve health. That’s why we started the International Health Exchange Partnership (Penn State IHEP). Penn State’s partnership with Taipei Medical University gives our students who participate in our two-way exchange the opportunity to compare our health care system to a different health care system based on a national health insurance model and allows students to experience global health through a nontraditional lens.”

Moving forward, the future for the global health program within Penn State will include an increasing number of opportunities for students to travel abroad and a new global health track within the masters of public health program.

In addition, Dr. Hwang emphasizes the importance of bilateral cultural and educational exchange within public health.

If you are interested in donating to the Global Health Center Scholarships you can: 1. Send a check to the Penn State University Global Health Center 2. Go to the Give Penn State fund on the web at giveto.psu.edu 3. Contact Devon Johnson to set up your own scholarship at ddominickjohnson@hmc.psu.edu