Global Health
Step out of the traditional university box and into the world.
Touro California's Global Health Certificate is designed to open doors and expand your worldview and help you understand the unique needs of underserved populations throughout the world.
Global Health is Public Health
Our Global Health Certificate is focused on understanding the complex realities of global and local communities as well as health service institutions through an integrated curriculum of case-based courses, research apprenticeships, elective rotations, summer internships and clinical and public health practicum.
The program is a structured, 4-year, multiple-requirements path for medical students interested in careers dedicated to improving global and local health disparities. If you participate in this program, you are pre-selecting some of your electives, rotations, and how you will spend your first summer. This program is open to enrolled students and you will apply during your first semester at TUCOM.
Certificate Highlights
- An awareness of key diseases affecting health in diverse countries and the health systems in which these diseases are treated
- Understanding of the economic, political, environmental, and social factors responsible for global health disparities
- Insight and experience into the ways research can help address global health issues
- An opportunity to provide compassionate and effective care to patients in different cultural frameworks and areas with limited resources
- A multidisciplinary and multicultural perspective towards global health
- Effective collaboration experience with professionals from various academic disciplines and diverse cultures
Our Certificate Includes
Elective courses that follow the mission of TU COM to prepare students to deliver primary care to the underserved, to teach, to learn and to serve.
International summer internships that integrate global public health theory, knowledge and skills in a practice setting.
International clinical rotations that provide an opportunity to learn in a global environment while developing clinical and leadership skills.
Impacting the World
Global Clinical Rotations and Summer Internships have included sites in:
- Ethiopia
- India
- Israel
- Mexico
- Taiwan
- Tanzania
- Uganda
Elective Courses
- Fall Elective: Fundamentals of Global Health 1 (BSCI 668)
- Spring Elective: Fundamentals of Global Health 2 (BSCI 669)
* Courses are recommended for summer internships
- Summer Internship in Global Health (BSCI 670)
* Course is required for summer internships
These courses are established to follow the mission of Touro University to prepare students to deliver primary care to the underserved, to teach, to learn and to serve.
Health care and delivery of primary care is enormously affected not only by economical and political factors but also by the success of intervention programs which rely heavily on understanding the social and cultural undertones of the multitude of the communities served.
The courses will present an overview of issues in global health from the viewpoint of many different disciplines.
Summer Internships
Eligibility and Requirements
The student must be in good academic standing.
Students participating in the summer internship must register for the prerequisite spring global health elective course. This course is established to follow the mission of TU COM to prepare students to deliver primary care to the under-served, to teach, to learn, and to serve. The course will present an overview of issues in global health from the viewpoint of many different disciplines.
TUC Affiliated Sites
Depending on the site, internships may include hospital rotations, outpatient clinics, specialty clinics, health centers, community service and or research opportunities. See each site for details.
What You'll Learn
Through the summer internship program, students will be able to:
- Integrate global public health theory, knowledge and skills in a practice setting.
- Complete a defined project(s) in an area of global health practice including core global health functions such as a needs assessment, program plan, program evaluation, educational campaign, applied research project.
- Exhibit proficiency in at least one of the following areas: program planning, needs assessment and data gathering, program implementation, applied research, program evaluation, or data analysis under the guidance of an experienced preceptor.
- Demonstrate competence in a global public health practice setting.
- Demonstrate leadership, teamwork, communication skills, and creativity in the development of a global public health practice activity.
- Integrate clinical theory with bed side diagnosis and management in endemic diseases.
- Demonstrate cultural sensitivity and competency.
What's Involved
The Global Health Summer Internship involves:
- Clinical didactic training in diagnosis and management of endemic diseases.
- Participation in “project-oriented” work in a global public health setting. Examples of appropriate tasks may include the following, but are not limited to involvement in:
- Developing, implementing and or evaluating health promotion programs for specific population(s)
- Conducting research on a global health issue of interest
- Conducting a community needs assessment
- Coalition building and coordination of resources
- Developing, health education materials
- Contributing to the development of grant proposals benefiting the community
- Communicating health education needs and information to policymakers and the public
- Development of a plan to implement the selected project;
- Fundraising for community-based projects
- Presentation of project findings in that addresses a health issue of the community and contributes in resolving practical health problems.
Clinical Rotations
International clinical rotations provide the opportunity to learn in a global environment. The intern contributes to a community's resources and to the solution of health problems while developing clinical skill, personal confidence and leadership as a health professional.
A planned, supervised internship and the preparation leading to it foster professional development in several areas:
- The application of primary care health core knowledge and specialty skills
- The development of new practice-based skills
- Attention to professional self-assessment and personal growth
Eligibility and Requirements
International clinical rotations are available for OMS III & IV. Minimum duration of the rotation is 4 weeks. The dates may vary according to the site.
The student must be in good academic standing.