Global Heath Education Project

Interested in Medsin? If so, Global Health is for you!

Contact: Oliver & Vanessa ghep@medsin.org

What is Global Health?

Global Health looks at the wider influences of health, such as poverty, debt, globalisation, healthcare financing, human rights, famine, environment, conflict and the movement of populations

What is the Global Health Education Project?

We want every medical student to be given the opportunity to learn about Global Health issues, so that ultimately all healthcare professionals will be equipped with the knowledge, skills and values to work effectively in our global society.

We work with other members of the Medsin Network to promote opportunities for students to learn about global health issues within and outside of their curriculum.

This can occur through:

Intercalated BScs (or indeed MScs)
SSCs
Core Curriculum of Medicine
E-learning
Academic International Health Links
Medsin Projects and Campaigns

For further information on our goals and aims, please refer to our strategic plan available here.

Summary of recent activities

GHEP National Conference 2009 ‘Global Health Education in the UK: Where are we now and where do we go from here?’

In October 2009 King’s College London hosted the first GHEP National Conference. Speakers included Professor Peter Piot, Professor John Yudkin, Professor Andy Haines and Professor Philippa Easterbrook. The one-day conference consisted of plenaries and breakout sessions, covering undergraduate and postgraduate global health teaching, medical student electives, and possible collaborations with other UK and international organisations working in the field of global health education. Following the conference several work streams were established and have subsequently been taken forward. These are outlined below.

Developing a Toolkit for Global Health Education

A Global Health Education Audit has been initiated to establish what, if any, global health education medical students receive at UK universities. This teaching can include non-compulsory lectures organised by students, student selected components (SSCs) and core curriculim teaching in global health. The results of this audit will later be used to create a database of UK GH teaching. The database will form part of a toolkit, which offers a step by step guide to introducing and developing global health teaching at UK medical schools. The toolkit is intended to offer a strategy for advocacy, and a repository of best practice.

UK Consensus Statement on Core Competencies in Global Health for Medical Students

Following the addition of a new global health education requirement in the General Medical Council’s (GMC) revised guidelines for undergraduate medical student teaching, GHEP have been working to devise a core curriculum for global health. A Working Group of expert academics and students has developed a UK Consensus Statement on Core Global Health Teaching. As well as detailing those topics which medical students should cover in order to achieve the new requirement, the statement also highlights how global health teaching can be used to achieve numerous other undergradaute competencies. The statement is being opened up to consultation to allow input from across the UK and we will seek its endorsement from key institutions involved in global health and medical education. Further work in this area will include lobbying the GMC to adopt the statement, and the creation of a guide to help medical schools develop this core teaching.

Pre-Elective Training for Medical Students

Medical electives were instituted as part of the UK medical curriculum in the 1970’s, and for many students are the highlight of undergraduate medical training. Electives provide the opportunity to travel overseas, experience a different culture and health system, and encounter a range of diseases seldom seen in the UK. However, despite the frequently quoted advantages of electives, the ethical debate surrounding them has persisted for more than a decade. Concerns have been raised about the potentially negative impact of unsupervised students on host country placements, particularly in resource-limited settings.

GHEP has been working to collate existing information and guidance on both the positive and negative aspects of medical student electives, and the ethical issues surrounding electives undertaken in low and middle income countries. To date we have devised an outline for structured pre-elective training, and we are working with key academics to develop this further. In addition, we are developing a sustainable elective partnership model, based on the success of Dundee University’s MIMP - www.medicineinmalawiplacements.org.uk – advocating for the adoption of this model by all UK medical schools. Establish a UK Global Health Education Network

In order to improve communication and encourage collaboration between key students, academics and associated professionals working on global health education a UK Global Health Education Network (GHEN) has been established. This network will also be an essential resource for the development of the Toolkit and National Policy, the sharing of best practice in GHE and publicity for global health events. Network members are currently listed in a GHEN Directory and the GHEN will soon be further developed as an email list and a webpage of members, which will be managed by a partner organisation. Efforts will be made to ensure that bureaucracy is kept to a minimum, that the network is sustainable and that close links are made with other networks to avoid overlap.

International Academic Health Links

Fostering partnerships between UK academic health institutions and equivalent institutions in low-income countries could play a central role in realising Medsin’s aims and supporting global health education. These links can provide a unique foundation for global health education in the UK whilst acting as a platform for teaching and research capacity building in the partner institution. They would also assist UK universities to fulfil their responsibilities as global citizens, as part of the UK Government’s vision for global health. Our aim is that, once established, these links will act as a conduit for the establishment of ethical and sustainable medical student electives.

GHEP is working closely with THET (the Tropical Health and Education Trust) to review medical school involvement in existing links and to develop a toolkit on International Academic Health Links, for use as an advocacy tool and start-up guide by medical students, clinicians and academic staff.

Additional GHEP activities in 2009-10 include:

Workshop entitled ‘Getting global health onto the core curriculum' at the Medsin National Conference 2009 in Nottingham
Feeding into discussions regarding the IFMSA Think Global Survey on the Status of Global Health in Medical Education (SOS-GloHME). This international survey will collect information and student opinions on global health education, and subsequently be used as a lobbying tool for the inclusion of global health teaching in the core curriculum.
Supporting local branches re. getting global health into the curriculum.
Updating the speakers’ database & gaining permission to make this available to branch, project and campaign representatives.
Updating the information regarding intercalated BScs & MScs on the Medsin website.
Establishing a team of students to help to expand GHEP.

How can I get involved though?

Want to find out more about Global Health Issues? Then here are ten ways to go about it:

Email Oliver and Vanessa to say that you are interested in global health issues or to join the GHEP team
Choose an SSC in global health related topic
Intercalate in International Health
Turn up for core lectures on global health issues
Set up your dream Global Health SSC - eg on refugees, HIV/AIDS, debt etc.
Set up an intercalated degree in International Health - it's really not as hard as it seems!
Get involved in a Medsin Campaign or Project!
Get involved in the new Medsin-UK project - The European World Health Organisation Simulation, EuWHO click here for details
Download the 'Rough Guide to Getting More Global Health in Your Curriculum' here

How can I do it?

The Global Health Education Project is all about it making easier. For more information email Oliver and Vanessa, the Global Health Coordinators or download the 'Rough Guide to Getting More Global Health in Your Curriculum'

We are still recruiting for members of the National GHEP Working Group:

GHEP National Working Group Roles and Suggested Responsibilities

National Lead(s) - One or two GHEP co-chairs who will lead the project nationally. Coordinate the national working group Represent the project at national and internationallevel Maintain the GHEP page of the Medsin website Facilitate workshops at National Medsin Conferences Manage the GHEP Gmail account Oversee the continuation of key GHEP activities as commenced in 2009-2010.

Lead - Global Health Education Toolkit - Coordinate the creation of a GHEP Toolkit on GH teaching Complete the Global Health Education Audit started by GHEP Present the findings as part of the toolkit Create a step-by-step guide to introducing optional and core GH teaching, such as GH lecture series, SSCs and iBSc courses Liaise with Medsin projects and campaigns to collect / create ideas for SSCs that support Medsin activities, such as teaching on climate change, refugee health or access to medicines.

Lead – Medical Student Electives; Pre-elective Training - Coordinate the creation of a Pre-elective Training package for medical students Conduct a literature review of existing research and publications on the ethics of medical student electives Develop the existing GHEP outline for pre-elective training Work with academics with an interest in this area to develop the training Promote adoption of the training by UK medical schools Develop guidance on the ethical electives at a national level

Lead – Academic Health Links - Coordinate the creation of a guide to setting up Academic Health Links, in partnership with THET Conduct research into existing International Health Links (IHL) to establish which links involve medical student participation; and if so what form this takesWork with THET to devise a step by step guide to setting up AHLs, using Dundee’s MIMP as a model of best practice Support local Medsin groups to work with local international health links and their medical school to set up new AHLs that involve students, academics and clinicians.

Global Health Resources

Click here for a list of good global health websites.

Global Health Education Project exists at

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Last updated on Monday 26 April 2010 at 22:22