Global Health

You can find information on Boston Medical Center’s exciting new Global and Local Health Equity Fellowship here!

Our Emergency Department offers mentorship and experience in global and local health equity. Residents have participated in train-the trainer programs, conducted research, and helped develop educational programs worldwide, most recently in Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Mexico, Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala. Residents with an interest in another country are mentored in helping to design an elective rotation that will be safe and beneficial to both the resident and the local population. We do not encourage exclusively clinical rotations because they are of limited benefit to local populations. Residents have also worked on local projects with refugee patients and patients with limited English proficiency.

Global & Public Health Track

Residents interested in developing additional expertise in the principles of global and public health can join the Global & Public Health Track. Residents will learn how to relate global and public health principles to the development and management of sustainable projects in resource-limited settings. In addition, residents will develop the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to succeed in public and global health activities and careers, and become competitive candidates for fellowships and faculty positions in academic emergency medicine programs. Contact the Track Coaches, Gabrielle Jacquet and Elissa Schechter-Perkins, with questions. Find additional resources below.

Resident Project Examples

Kristen Dwyer, Class of 2014:

Ultrasound teaching in Rwanda with PURE (Physician Ultrasound in Rwanda Education initiative): “I went to Rwanda with the PURE organization. Our US director, Dr Leo is on the board of this organization and has been traveling to Rwanda to do ultrasound education with the residents and medical students. The goal is to create educators and champions of ultrasound in the country. On my trip, we were providing training for the trainers, and then had our trainees lead an ultrasound workshop for local medical students. It was great to see how much they had learned, and how they had blossomed into ultrasound educators from their training. In addition, after the PURE group left, I stayed behind to volunteer in the ED and do more ultrasound bedside training.”

Brandon Libby, Class of 2014, and Brian Guercio, Class of 2015:

An Ultrasound Training Program at a Burmese Refugee Health Clinic in Thailand:  This project aims to establish an ultrasound training program at the Mae Tao Clinic, a clinic serving Burmese people who have crossed the Thai-Burma border to escape political and economic oppression. By combining a “train-the-trainers” model with longitudinal Emergency Medicine resident involvement, the training program is designed to be self-sustaining and eventually run by clinic medics alone. The project incorporates an IRB-approved study to measure the efficacy of this approach to ultrasound training by EM residents in a limited-resource setting. Additional project goals include: developing an ultrasound committee/department at the clinic and a Quality Assurance review program.

Matt Tyler, Class of 2016:

“I participated in a clinical rotation in the Aga Khan emergency department where I evaluated patients under supervision from the EM attending. I also undertook a clinical research project guided by my mentor at Aga Khan Hospital.  Lastly, I participated in weekly teaching sessions with Kenyan Emergency Medicine residents and nurses.”

Global Health Blog

Read about the amazing experiences of BMC residents during their time abroad!

Global Health Educational Resources

The Practitioner’s Guide to Global Health information
The Practitioner’s Guide to Global Health course

Public & Global Health Newsletter

Our Emergency Department is a leader in Public Health and Global Health on a local, state, and national level. We are proud to publish a newsletter highlighting our cutting-edge scholarship and innovative programs in these fields.

2019 Public & Global Health Newsletter
2018 Public & Global Health Newsletter
2016 Public & Global Health Newsletter
2015 Public & Global Health Newsletter

2014 Public & Global Health Newsletter

2013 Public & Global Health Newsletter
2012 Public & Global Health Newsletter

Faculty Leadership