Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Department of Family and Community Health

Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine
Department of Family and Community Health
1600 Medical Center Drive, Suite 1400
Huntington, WV 25701
304-691-1165
http://meb.marshall.edu/fch
badkins@marshall.edu

The Family Medicine Track in International Health at Marshall, the nation's oldest such program, is an outgrowth of our School of Medicine's main goal: developing primary care physicians. Participants receive special training in community-oriented family medicine with an emphasis in international health, complete a two-month clinical experience in a third-world setting, participate in a 4- to 6-week course in tropical medicine, and attend one annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. We fully fund these experiences.

Location(s) of program: Residents have participated at sites in 34 countries as well as underserved areas of the United States.

Description of field experience: Field experiences are exceptionally varied and have included, for example, working with tribal populations in isolated settings in the Amazon Basin, Andes and Himalayas; rural and urban clinics in Asia, Africa, and South America; public health projects with Ministries of Health; Catholic and Evangelical Christian missions; and secular NGO projects.

Description of didactics: Special readings in international health and cross-cultural medicine; a 4- to 6-week course in tropical medicine; and monthly meetings at the home of the director of the track, consisting of a social hour and catered dinner followed by a presentation by a speaker with direct personal experience on a topic pertaining to global health and care of the underserved.

Cost to individual resident: The program is fully funded.

Number of residents who have participated in the last two years: 6

Description of faculty involvement: The diverse backgrounds of our faculty include interest and expertise in anthropology, public health, tropical medicine, envenomations, environmental and occupational medicine, community development, missionary medicine, military medicine, and ethnobotany. The program director has lived and worked with rainforest-dwelling tribal populations annually since 1966.

Does the program accept medical students for trips? Yes

Does the program accept residents from outside the program for trips? Yes

Approximate time of year/duration of trips: Throughout the year.

Who to contact if interested in applying:
John Walden, MD, DTM&H
Director, International Health Track
badkins@marshall.edu
304-691-1165