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n Vietnam, OMS-IV Leigh Anne Bressler learned that
the quality and quantity of care patients receive de-
pends on how much money they can afford for health
care since the impoverished nation’s health care system
runs largely on a cash-pay system.
In Argentina, OMS-IV Heidi Eleanor Hagerott gave
basic medical exams to residents of rural villages where
electricity and running water are considered luxuries.
Their experiences are reflective of other NSU-COM
students who volunteered for an international selective
medical rotation program in 28 countries in five continents.
These rotations provide the students with academic credit,
allow them to discover other cultures, and help them learn
about international health care systems and the practice of
medicine in other countries where access to care is very lim-
ited and some of patients have never seen a doctor before.
“In my two months in Argentina, I saw the true humanistic
viewpoint of medicine,” Hagerott said. “I left La Rioja in
tears and will always keep Argentina close to my heart.”
Since 2008, NSU-COM students have become compas-
sionate medical ambassadors for the university as they
participate in the delivery of primary care throughout the
world. They have also introduced the practice of osteo-
pathic medicine to many countries, where this branch of
American medicine is unknown.
“The international rotations allow our medical stu-
dents and faculty members to learn and share different
health care delivery systems and introduce the osteopathic
profession around the world,” said James T. Howell, M.D.,
M.P.H., assistant dean for professional relations and direc-
tor of the International Medical Rotations Program. “We
are very optimistic that osteopathic medicine will eventu-
ally be a major health contributor around the world.”
Hagerott and Bressler, like other NSU-COM students,
are given a wide range of opportunities during their
international rotations. It could be a routine medical
examination, participating in the treatment of infectious
and chronic diseases, or the delivery of public health and
I
preventive medical services. “The availability and afford-
ability of vaccinations in Vietnam has been subpar, leading
to outbreaks of several preventable diseases,” Bressler said.
“I saw a middle-aged Vietnamese man with a nasty case
of the mumps. This was my first and hopefully last time to
see such a preventable disease.”
Bressler said the man’s case reinforces the importance
of vaccinations and added that it should make Americans
feel lucky to live in a country that has far-reaching public
health initiatives to protect its population. “As a whole,
my experience in Vietnam has opened my eyes to some of
the health care needs of other cultures I have yet to have as
patients,” added Bressler, who also treated expatriates. “It
has prepared me to be open-minded and sensitive to their
needs when I will inevitably encounter many of them as a
practicing physician in the melting pot of America.”
Some of the countries where NSU-COM students
have completed their rotations include Haiti, Peru, India,
Colombia, Ghana, Bulgaria, United Arab Emirates, China,
the Philippines, Brazil, France, Trinidad and Tobago,
Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, South Africa, Ireland, Guate-
mala, Kenya, Taiwan, Israel, Jordan, Costa Rica, Nepal,
Germany, and Pakistan.
More than 150 medical students have participated an-
nually in international medical trips lasting from 10 days
to three months, said Dr. Anthony J. Silvagni, NSU-COM
dean. He said the program has a positive impact on the
professional growth of NSU medical students since these
opportunities start with an international medical outreach
elective at the end of the student’s first semester during
year one, progressing to international clinical rotations
during their fourth year.
“NSU-COM students who are engaged in these interna-
tional rotations return to the United States with a global med-
ical mindset,” said Anthony J. DeNapoli, Ed.D., NSU execu-
tive director of international affairs. “Their experiences will
undoubtedly change the way they think, view, understand,
and care for a changing patient population in America.”
Medical Students Without Borders
By Ken Ma, M.B.A., Associate Director, NSU Office of Public Affairs
28
COM Outlook . Summer 2012