Global Health

Global Health Experiences Photo
The WMed International Health Experiences are aimed at educating and exposing participants to the aspects of global health to minimize the disparity of medical care in developing countries.

Healthcare professionals are needed who can meet the challenges of providing healthcare in resource-limited settings at home and abroad. The WMed International Health Experiences are aimed at educating and exposing participants to the aspects of global health to minimize the disparity of medical care in developing countries. The experiences provide fourth-year medical students and residents with the skills needed to meet the complex demands for healthcare professionals to function competently in resource-limited settings. Medical students have the opportunity to participate in WMed Global & Public Health Distinction, which includes longitudinal programming and fourth-year international electives. Participants will learn through:

  • A structured, group-oriented curriculum
  • Experiential hands on-learning in WMed faculty – approved sites such as Madagascar, Peru, Liberia, or other developing countries as well as immersion in a low-resource healthcare settings within the United States.
  • Course work within the U.S. is done online, in-person, and in the simulation centers.

Global Health Experiences

For more information, please visit the Global Engagement Opportunities webpage.

WMed Rotations
  • Public Health: 1 block
  • Rural Medicine: 1 block at migrant worker clinics, including experience with mobile clinics at migrant worker camps
  • Infectious Diseases: 1 block
  • International Medicine Abroad: 1 block in Madagascar, Peru, or Liberia
Coursework
  • Global Health
  • Basic Disaster Relief
  • Advanced Disaster Relief
  • Point of Care Ultrasound
  • Viral Diseases of the Tropics
  • Bacterial Diseases of the Tropics
  • Parasitic Disease of the Tropics
  • Non-infectious Disease of the Tropics

Residents who wish to become certified by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) may take the University of Minnesota Global Health Program or similar.

Scholarly Activity
  • Participation in Global Health Grand Rounds
  • Scholarly Activity/Research Project in the area of Global Health
  • Presentation at IM and/or Pediatric Grand Rounds or Equivalent

Global Health Grand Rounds

Global Health Grand Rounds presentations are held monthly at at the medical school's W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus.

  • 2025-2026 Global Health Grand Rounds Schedule
    Date Time Presentation
    August 19, 2025 6:00-7:00 p.m.

    Global Health Opportunities at WMed

    Presenters: Priscilla Woodhams, MD; Thomas Melgar, MD, MPH; Jayce Deleon, MD, and Mark Downing, MD
    September 23, 2025 6:00-7:00 p.m. Patterns of Tick-Borne Diseases. Is global warming a factor?

    Presenters: M4 Sidhvi Nekkanti; Mahesh Shrestha, MD; Eric Edewaard, MD, and Thomas Melgar, MD, MPH
    October 23, 2025 6:00-7:00 p.m. Kyrgyzstan and Echinococcosis

    Presenter: Jonathan Mayhew, MD
    November 5, 2025 6:00-7:00 p.m. Global Health Interventions in Rural Telangana, India

    Presenters: Student Leaders and Priscilla Woodhams, MD
    December 3, 2025 6:00-7:00 p.m. Updates from the 2025 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Meeting

    Presenter: Thomas Melgar, MD
    January 14, 2026 6:00-7:00 p.m. Global Health Simulations (RSVP Required)

    Presenters: Thomas Melgar, MD, and Jayce Deleon, MD
    February 12, 2026 6:00-7:00 p.m.

    War & Healthcare: The Public Health Crisis in Gaza

    Presenter: M3 Aseal Liqa
    March 17, 2026 6:00-7:00 p.m. Innovative models of poverty alleviation & healthcare reforms in developing countries

    Presenter: M2 Shane Kim
    April 9, 2026 6:00-7:00 p.m. Parasitic diseases of the Liver and GI track

    Presenter: Jwala KC, MD, PGY-2, Pediatrics
    May 7, 2026 6:00-7:00 p.m. Global Health is local: Intro to Refugee Health

    Presenter: Grace Wang, MD, PGY-2, Medicine-Pediatrics