International Resources and Programs

International Health Medical Education Consortium (IHMEC). There are many contacts for international health rotations in the IHMEC listserver. The IHMEC list service was started as a method for the membership to communicate among themselves to share information, seek information and problem solve those issues which are posed in international health education. The list service is basically a private electronic bulletin board to which you can post messages and receive answers. Let's say that you have a student who wants to go to Sri Lanka or a faculty member who wants to develop a contact in Argentina, or if you want to know what other travelers are doing for insurance, etc. etc. You can pose the question to the membership of IHMEC in an e-mail message. Just write your question or comment as a regular e-mail message and address it to

IHMEC-L@www.hsc.unt.edu

and the message will be automatically distributed to all the membership (who have e-mail addresses). For questions about the list:

Craig Whiting, DO (gwhiting@hsc.unt.edu) List Owner, IHMEC-L
University of North Texas Health Science Center
Fort Worth, Texas

(817)625-4254

Residency Program in Internal Medicine and International Health, MetroHealth Medical Center, The Center for International Health Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine. The residency program is designed to meet the special needs of medical school graduates with a commitment to international health. The program meets the educational requirements of the American Board of Internal Medicine for board certification.

AMSA Foundation, International Health Studies Center provides international placements and health courses. For more information check out their web site or e-mail intl@www.amsa.org.

International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD), based in Paris, is a research and training institution addressing global issues in lung disease. Contact Marc Schenker, MD, MPH, Professor and Chair, for information.

Chittagong (Bangladesh) Mother's and Children's Hospital is the only institution of its kind in the country. Staffed by volunteers and funded by charitable contributions, the Hospital welcomes students to work on both clinical and community education projects. Contact Faith Boucher for information.

Mahidol University (Bangkok, Thailand) Department of Community Medicine offers student placements in clinics, hospitals, and community programs. The Mahidol School of Public Health offers an English-language Masters' in Public Health. Contact Faith Boucher for information.

United Nations Volunteers seeks qualified candidates between 21 and 65 who hold university degrees and have 2 to 5 years of international degree-related experience. UNV is recruiting pathologists, environmental economists, entomologists, primary health care specialists, HIV/AIDS specialists, and NGO specialists. Applicants with dependants accepted. For information contact Trish Heady, 1338 Holly St., NW, Washington D.C. 20012, or call (800) 424-8580, ext. 2243.

Peace Corps San Francisco Regional Office (415) 977-8800

International Medical Corps (310) 826-7800

Los Medicos Voladores was founded in 1974 to provide health services and education to the people of Northern Mexico. LMV's primary purpose is to send medical teams on 4-day trips to Mexico each month. Teams include a pilot, interpreter, medical professional (usually MD, dentist or optometrist) and possibly a co-pilot or general volunteer. Flights leave from the San Francisco, Sacramento, and Auburn areas. For more details see www.flyingdocs.org or call 800-585-4LMV.

Flying Medical Volunteers is a group of of physicians, dentists, opthamologists, pilots, allied health support folks, and translators based in San Jose, California. Their mission is to deliver medical services and supplies to remote underserved areas populated by people of latino heritage. Contact Jeffrey Hodgson for more information.

Flying Samaritans is a volunteer organization that operates free medical clinics in Baja, Mexico. Doctors, dentists, nurses, translators, pilots and support personnel fly to clinics in private aircraft. Clinics are held one weekend a month at no charge to the patients. Volunteers pay their own expenses. Contact Michael McKibban or call 800-775-9018 for more information.

Partners in Health, established in 1987, is committed to making a preferential option for the poor by working in partnership with community-based organizations on projects designed to improve health outcomes in poor communities. We call this "pragmatic solidarity."  Towards this aim Partners In Health provides technical and financial assistance, obtains funding and medical supplies and helps to administer partner projects in Haiti, Peru, Mexico, Cambodia and Boston. The goal of these partnerships is neither charity nor development. Rather, they reflect a commitment to struggle alongside poor people and against the economic and political structures which create their poverty, and lead to increased morbidity and mortality.   Partners In Health is supported by grants and individual contributions. PIH is a 501 (c) (3) organization and all contributions are tax-deductible. Contact: Partners In Health (PIH), 113 River Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, tel: (617) 661-4564, fax: (617) 661-2669 e-mail: pih@igc.org.