Upon becoming a third year medical student, I had an interest in traveling abroad before continuing my adventure throughout the clinical arenas. As my hours increased and most of my time was spent in the hospital, I had lost motivation to look into pursuing an international experience, especially with such limited personal time and so much of my energy focused preparing for rounds, cases, or presentations, depending on my assigned rotation.
Therefore, I was thrilled to learn about AMWA partnering with Child Family Health International (CFHI).
CFHI provides opportunities in seven different countries with over 20 different sites. This partnership places students alongside local physicians and health experts to polish medical skills abroad while working to learn about various cultures and differences in healthcare across borders. CFHI is providing one AMWA member with a $500 partial scholarship to be awarded toward participation in any Global Health Education Program headed by CFHI between August and December of this year.
By cultivating this partnership, an increasing number of students, whether applying to medical school, currently in medical school, or interested in health care, will be more likely to pursue international experiences and spend time abroad. Careers in global health are gaining in popularity, and the field will only continue to grow.
Eliza Lo Chin, MD, MPH, Executive Director of AMWA, summarized the benefits of the partnership beautifully: “AMWA is thrilled about our new partnership with CFHI. Together we can meet increasing demand for international clinical and public health experiences and provide our students uniqueopportunities to participate in global health work with a recognized leader.“
Together, AMWA and CFHI will help to drive the already growing concept of internationalizing medical education. CFHI was started over 20 years ago by a Stanford medical student and has since sent over 8,000 students abroad on its programs. Students enhance not only medical skills, but also cultural knowledge by learning from professionals and local experts in these settings.
My personal interest in traveling abroad has been re-awakened as I learn more about the partnership between AMWA and CFHI and the scholarship opportunity. I encourage all students who are interested to apply. I look forward to learning about the experiences of AMWA students going abroad through CFHI programs as a product of our partnership.
Check out the press release here!
