IHOP Information Session 2010

IHOPINTERNATIONAL HEALTH OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM

What is IHOP?

IHOP is a program administered through the Department of Global Health.

It allows medical students an opportunity to learn about global health through an immersion experience in a developing country.

IHOP students earn 10 units of credit and fulfill their III requirement.

IHOP goals and objectives

Witness the health challenges affecting low and middle-income countries.

Promote a deeper understanding of the social, economic, environmental, and political determinants of health.

Foster critical analysis of global health policies and programs.

Build skills for successful international and cross-cultural collaboration.

Explore the role physicians can play in reducing health disparities.

What are the requirements?

Attend a weekend orientation session during spring break.

Spend at least eight weeks in your IHOP country.

Comply with all health and safety recommendations.

Adhere to the code of conduct while at your site.

Complete all course assignments.

Carry out a community project.

Attend a week of classroom seminars at the end of summer quarter.

Develop and present an academic poster.

What does IHOP cost?Students accepted into IHOP are responsible for bearing all the costs associated with the program (airfare and transportation to the site, housing, living expenses, and any health requirements).

The total costs of IHOP are between $3000 - $5000 per student, depending on the site.

Students are eligible for financial aid as well as need-based scholarship support.

What do IHOP students do?Spend eight weeks in a developing country, usually at a healthcare setting.

Perform a community health assessment.

Identify a health topic of importance to the community.

Investigate local approaches to the problem.

Partner with a community organization to help address a health need.

What have students disliked about IHOP?

Language and cultural barriers, difficulty connecting with the community

Physical discomfort

Frustrations “getting things done”

Too little structure

Too much “downtime”

Not enough clinical exposure

Gender and/or age prejudice

Unwanted sexual attention

Being seen as a “rich American”

Conflicts with site-mates.

Homesickness

What do IHOP students like about their experience?

Most students consider the experience to have been “amazing” and life-changing.

Witness healthcare in a developing country.

Confront head-on issues of poverty and social injustice.

Live, work, and explore a foreign country.

More deeply understand how to incorporate global health into their future careers.

What are the IHOP sites?

Madagascar

Mongolia

Peru

Uganda

Philippines?

Mexico?

Madagascar

Uganda

Peru

Mongolia

What else should I know?

IHOP is a quarter-long course. There are weekly assignments which must be completed and submitted. You will be busy!

Prior international experience is not required.

We will be accepting up to 12 qualified students this year.

You must have the appropriate language skills for the country you are applying for.

IHOP is not a clinical preceptorship.

What makes a strong applicant?

Genuine interest in global health and working with underserved populations.

Flexibility and adaptability.

Independence and personal initiative.

Cross-cultural sensitivity and compassion.

Professionalism and maturity.

Foreign-language skills.

Who should apply?

Students with a genuine interest in learning more about global health.

Students who wish to complete their III requirements through an immersion experience in a developing country.

Students on the Global Health Pathway.

Students in the MD/MPH program.

How to apply:

The application is available online on the GHRC website.

Complete the electronic application along with one letter of recommendation and email it to dwade@uw.edu

Application deadline is January 29.

Interviews will be held the second week of February.

How do I find out more?

Contact:

Daren Wade MSW

Global Health Resource Center

dwade@uw.edu

David Roesel MD, MPH, DTM&H

Dept. of Medicine/Global Health

droesel@uw.edu