Global Health

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MSIH is a unique school that prepares physicians to address the impact of cultural, economic, political and environmental factors on the health of individuals and populations worldwide. It incorporates core global health courses into all four years of an M.D. program. Classes are small, intimate and challenging. At MSIH, you learn not only to be a doctor, but also to be a skilled physician with a comprehensive view of health around the world.

Why Should I Study Global Health?

Students focus on global health for a variety of reasons, commonly including the desire to:

  • Have a real impact as a medical practitioner attuned to issues of social justice
  • Work effectively with underserved populations
  • Study medicine alongside other disciplines such as epidemiology and medical ethics
  • Gain experience working with diverse communities throughout the world

“Global health is not straightforward. It requires constant evolving and critical introspection. We sat down in our introduction to the global health module and tackled our first subject: ‘colonial medicine’. The interplay of historical context, socio political environment, and economic motivators in relation to health is something I have become very aware of as I have learned more about global health.

The fact that the MSIH curriculum tackles this head on confirmed my reasoning for choosing the program. The daily conversations I have with my peers confirms it even more. Everyday I learn new perspectives from those around me. Being here with my classmates pumps me up to explore, listen, and be a part of social change advocacy.”

Sydney McGuire

MSIH Class of 2025

PLAY VIDEO

MSIH Peru Clerkship 2019

Follow three MSIH students as they complete their Global Health Clerkship in Requena, Peru.

How Will My M.D. Focus on Global Health?

Our program takes an integrated approach to global health and cross-cultural medicine. The curriculum provides a comprehensive education in medical sciences and clinical training, with focused global health coursework, concepts, issues and practices throughout. As a student at MSIH, you’ll participate in an array of global health and medicine components, including:

Global health modules such as Tropical Diseases, Birth as a Human Rights Issue, Aging, Anatomy of Urban Health for the Poor and Underserved, HIV/AIDS, Cardiovascular Disease in Developing Countries and more.

Clinical clerkships providing exposure to diverse patients from southern Israel’s Bedouin and Ethiopian communities, as well as immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East.

Eight weeks in a global health rotation in diverse locations around the world, such as India, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Peru, Mexico, Ghana and Ethiopia.

A year-long course in clinical and global medicine that covers history, critical concepts, clinical care practice and emerging issues in the field.

Courses in epidemiology and medical ethics that emphasize demographic and cultural issues.

A course in biostatistics that develops the skills to write a high-quality research paper on topics relevant to global health issues.

An interactive workshop that offers cross-cultural clinical communications skills and simulations.

“In our weekly modules, we delve into various relationships between medicine and society through a social science and global health lens. We focus on the health inequalities that are so intertwined between poverty, race and medicine. Dr. Rosenthal challenges us to ask ourselves – was all medicine created equal? (the answer is unfortunately, no).”
– Stefanie Stockhamer (‘24) MSIH second year student from Canada

Scholarship

MSIH recognizes the need for financial support for all medical students, especially those who want to work in underserved areas. Please see our scholarship page to learn more.

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Take the next step of your journey to a meaningful M.D. career.