Personal Preparation
- Why do you want to do this?
- Do you enjoy cultural anthropology?
- What common medical problems do you want to examine?
- What responsibilities would you like?
- How are you going to communicate?
- Do you have any personal health risks?
- Who are your emergency contacts?
- Can you deal with missing home or cultural isolation?
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Four Months Out
- Where would you like to go?
- Determine the host site's expectations
- Submit your application (PDF) to @email for further processing
- Obtain language training, if needed
- Contact 3-4 agencies to find out specifics and choose
- Determine the medical environment (lab, imaging, textbooks, medical supplies, etc.)
- Learn about country's culture and your personal safety
- Identify possible health risks
- Check for state department travel warnings
- Make travel plans
- Identify a preceptor at host site
- Review suggested readings (PDF) for international health
- What would you like to do?
- Specialty versus primary care
- Hospital versus clinic/home visits
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Two Months Out
- Acquire UA College of Medicine – Phoenix paperwork (signatures in advance)
- Review personal and education objectives
- Make sure you are comfortable with:
- Own health coverage
- Liability insurance or lack thereof
- Need for emergency medical care
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One Month Out
- Confirm lodging and travel plans (tickets, in-country travel)
- Visit a travel clinic for vaccines, post-exposure prophylaxis, and /or malaria prophylaxis
- Read about the country and people (local anthropology, most prevalent health issues)
- Review faculty pre-departure checklist (first meeting with Dr. Beyda)
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Two Weeks Out
- Reconfirm your educational plans (second meeting with Dr. Beyda)
- Packing list (PDF) (consider dress code for physicians, gender)
- Reconfirm travel and lodging arrangements
- Pack prophylactic meds
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Upon Your Return
- Summarize your experience in a written narrative essay
- Debriefing (third meeting with Dr. Beyda)
- Provide a written reflection
- PPD three months after you return
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