The theme of this semester’s Clinical Connections newsletter is global health and cultural competency. In addition to a wide-range of opportunities for clinical training in the United Kingdom, AUC’s ongoing collaboration with the Western Connecticut Health Network’s Global Health Program provides opportunities for 4th year students to complete a 6-week elective rotation in one of five countries: Zimbabwe, Uganda, Russia, Vietnam, and the Dominican Republic. Each year, dozens of AUC students take advantage of the opportunity to experience the practice of medicine abroad. Not only do these experiences stand out on residency applications, global health training has a lasting impact on the professional growth and development of healthcare professionals in training.
A recent study from Harvard Medical School (Ross et al, 2017) found that participation in global health experiences by physicians-in-training resulted in significant scholarship and teaching and contributed to long-term career trajectories. A study of student pharmacists (Peterson et al, 2017) found lasting impact of global health experiences on the development of clinical skills, compassion, and other attributes:
Throughout this edition of Clinical Connections you will hear from students, alumni, and clinical faculty who are involved in the promotion of global health and cultural competency, and you will learn about the impact of these experiences on each of them. Your Clinical Leadership Team and I hope you will consider taking advantage of these available electives.
Finally, Residency application season is almost here and many of you are preparing to sit for your Step 2 exams. Inside this issue, you will find an infographic to help guide you through the Step 2 CK process. Please remember that you have a team of leaders ready and willing to guide you through this process. You may email me at any time at kkirkland@aucmed.edu.
Best of luck to all of you on your clinical training, Step 2 examinations, and residency interviews!
Sincerely,
Associate Dean for Clinical Student Affairs
Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Clinical Sciences