Apologies to those of you who were not able to make the meeting for scheduling reasons. We did have a fair turnout though, and hopefully the information provided here will be enough to get you started.

The general format of the meeting was as follows.

I. Dr. Tom Hamrick (Professor, Family and Community Medicine Department) gave a history of the program, which he was instrumental in founding and in which he is still very involved.

II. Dr. Jim Theis (Assistant Professor, Family and Community Medicine Department) gave a slide presentation on the basics of the externship including lots of mouth-watering photos of beaches in Costa Rica and Jamaica. Drs. Hamrick and Theis are the directors of the International Programs at Tulane Med.

III. Charlotte Steger (Assistant Director, Office of Student Affairs) clarified some issues related to fourth year scheduling, including the fact that preference will be given to people attempting to do a rotation in an area where a spouse is currently living and to people who are trying to schedule both the MD/MPH rotation and an externship. For more information on the basics of fourth year scheduling see the timeline/checklist on definitions and basics or the Office of Student Affairs website.

IV. Dr. Marie Krousel-Wood (aka Tonette Wood, Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education, SPHTM) explained the basics of the MD/MPH rotation, clarifying the fact that this rotation is required for all joint degree students but is not the same as an externship. The MD/MPH rotation counts as a selective and must be scheduled through the Office of Student Affairs.

V. Questions were addressed to the speakers (who are very willing to answer questions via email also)

• What months are the MD/MPH rotation being offered?
  • Dr. Hamrick: February, March, April in the second semester and July, August, and possibly September because many people are away in the fall. This may change in the future as more sites are added, but the current program is focused on the St. Thomas Clinic in New Orleans.

   

• How can International Health and Tropical medicine students go about scheduling the MD/MPH rotation as well as international externships?
  • Charlotte Steger: Those students are given preference scheduling in order to facilitate both rotations.

Dr. Wood: Tropical Medicine students are in a special situation because much of their coursework is done during the fourth year. They need to contact Dr. Oberhelman directly to discuss their schedule.

• Can you schedule classes in the SPHTM during your MD/MPH rotation?
  • Dr. Wood: This is possible, but needs to be discussed with Adrienne Meister and Dr. Hamrick and will be approved on a case-by-case basis in order to ensure that the objectives of the MD/MPH rotation are met.

   

• Is it possible to do your externship in a western first-world country?
  • Dr. Theis: Absolutely, we have had many students study in Europe and we have information on these opportunities in the Family and Community Medicine Department.
  • Dr. Wood: Its important to note that you can have third-world experiences right here in our own backyard. For those people who can't make it to Belize or Ecuador, come to the MD/MPH rotation and we will get you connected with a clinic that deals with the same issues. Also, non-joint degree students can take the MD/MPH rotation as an elective course, but the scheduling priority will go to the joint degree students.

   

• Is there a maximum amount of time that you can spend away from Tulane?
  • Charlotte Steger: Any more than two months requires special permission from the Director of Student Affairs (who will be Dr. Kahn starting next year).

   

• Is there any funding provided by Tulane?
  • Dr. Theis: No, Tulane does not subsidize any student participation in the programs that it offers. Most of the in-country costs are fairly minimal; for example, you can expect 2 months in Jamaica to cost about $1200.
  • Charlotte Steger: Mike Goodman (in Financial Aid) will make allowances in your budget for the year and allow you to borrow more money, although there is a limit.
  • (NB see Funds on this website)