Training Program: Global Health Track

Thuy Bui, MD
Director, Global Health Track
Director, Program for Health Care to Underserved Populations

• The Global Health Track is a unique program designed to train physician leaders in clinical medicine, teaching, health policy, and research in global health.
• At its foundation is a core internal medicine competency with a strong generalist perspective, cost-conscious practice, and back-to-basics diagnosis. Clinical training provides exposure to local and international sites, coupled with a curriculum and scholarly work designed to address health policy, public health issues, and social factors influencing health and disease in the global context.
• Clinical experiences are available in Pittsburgh, other areas of the United States, and international sites such as the following:
  
  1. Mediciti Hospital in Hyderabad, India
  2. Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi (Africa)
  3. Beira, Mozambique - New HIV/AIDS clinic and training center in Mozambique. Renovated with support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), St. Luke’s Health Center officially opened its doors on June 17, 2009. Dr Peter Millard has a primary appointment here in the Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases. He has a secondary appointment at the Catholic University of Mozambique. He will serve as the primary mentor for the Global Health residents when they are working in Beira.
  4. Shoulder to Shoulder Pittsburgh, San Jose, Honduras and Hospital Comunal de Ciriboya with Global Links
  5. Sapporo, Japan
  
  6. ISMETT Hospital in Palermo, Italy
  7. Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility Arizonia
  8. Rural health clinics in Pennsylvania through SW AHEC
  9. The Birmingham Free Clinic and other Health Care for the Homeless Clinics in Pittsburgh
• The Global Health Conference Series takes place biweekly to advance core competencies in HIV/AIDS, tropical diseases, public health, policy and advocacy, human rights, bioethics, and health services research. It also serves as a forum for health professionals, residents, and students from medicine as well as from other disciplines to share ideas and opportunities to advance the global health agenda. Residents in their second and third year of residency actively contribute to this conference series by exploring the social, economic, and political issues of country and region of interest through preparatory seminars before departure and through debriefing seminars after the completion of the international experience. Click here for Schedule.
• Each resident in this track is assigned a mentor who is a faculty member from the University of Pittsburgh and the Section of Global Health and has ongoing activities in the resident's country of interest. One of the Global Health Track's key faculty members will serve as the resident's program and career mentor to ensure that each resident achieves all the goals of the residency track and receives the appropriate guidance and resources to pursue additional training or a position after residency.
• An integral component of the Global Health Track (GHT) is a longitudinal Scholarly Project on a relevant global health issue. The Scholarly Project is designed to complement the international clinical experience. The project itself can focus on underserved populations in the United States but should have global perspectives based on the international experience. Typically, up to 4 months at an international site is split up between the PGY2 and PGY3 years. Categories of Scholarly Project may include:
  • Systematic description and documentation of a specific health problem
  

  • Service-based quality improvement study
  • Program development and evaluation
  • Community needs assessment and population surveys
  • Disease-specific clinical research (usually as a component of an existing and ongoing project of a faculty member from the University of Pittsburgh or another US or local institution)
  • Health policy and advocacy paper
  • Humanism in medicine paper with concentration on global and international issues
  • Health services research related to a global health issue
• A year-long global public policy seminar organized by The Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) and our global health core faculty is offered monthly for GHT residents, selected residents from other training programs and interested faculty at the University of Pittsburgh. For more information on our seminar please see our:
  • Course description
  • GH Faculty Descriptions
  • Reading materials


• The GHT residents participate in the Evidence-based Medicine for Developing Countries project by:
  1. Creating a compendium of answerable clinical questions
  2. Disseminating and implementing EBM in a resource-poor setting
  3. Embarking on a systematic review with instruction and resources provided through the EBM resident journal club. Click here for more information.
• Opportunities may be available in a fourth year to complete a funded research project, a master degree program in Clinical Research or Medical Education or other master degree programs available through the Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) and GSPIA.
• The Department offers up to 4 positions in the Global Health Track each year. For additional information about the Global Health Track, please contact Dr. Thuy Bui. Please visit our How to Apply page for more information on general application procedures.

GLOBAL HEALTH TRACK

PGY1		5 Months of Inpatient Floors 3 Months General Medicine 1 Month Cardiology 1 Month Hematology/Oncology
		1 Month Medical ICU
		1 Month CCU
		1 Month Indian Health Services in Chinle, AZ Comprehensive Health Care Facility (Jan. or Feb.)
		1 Month Ambulatory Block
		2 Months (Subspecialty) Elective
		2 weeks at Pittsburgh AIDS Center for Treatment (PACT) 2 weeks night float
		Continuity clinic ½ day per week throughout year except while in ICU/CCU. Salud free clinic, Saturdays, on non-call month.
PGY2		4 Months of Inpatient Floors 2 Month General Medicine 1 Month Cardiology 1 Month Hematology/Oncology
		1 Month at Pittsburgh AIDS Center for Treatment (PACT)
		1 ECC/Night Float
		2 Months Subspecialty Electives
		1 Month Outpatient Geriatrics
		1 Month ICU
		2 Months Global Health Clinical Experience (travel to resident's country/region of academic/scholarly interest)
		Continuity clinic ½ day per week throughout year except while in ICU/CCU. Salud free clinic, Saturdays, on non-call month.
PGY3		3 Months of Inpatient Floors 2 Months General Medicine 1 Month Cardiology
		2 Month ICU (Medical ICU or CCU)
		1 Month ECC/Night Float
		2 Months Subspecialty Elective
		1 month ED
		*1 Month local Global Health Elective
		*2 Months Global Health Clinical Experience (travel to resident's country/region of academic/scholarly interest)
		Continuity clinic ½ day per week throughout year except while in ICU/CCU. Salud free clinic, Saturdays, on non-call months.

* Resident may pick from local/regional/national rotations that focus on Rural Health Care, Homeless Health Care, Community Health Care, or research/independent study.

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