Rhona MacDonald and Richard Lane discuss the importance of the right to health, ask whether motives for getting involved in global health matter, and give some v interesting poll results. Rhona also gets on her soap box about the MDGs!

 

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Jordan Sloshower, Research Coordinator in  Family Medicine at the University of Manitoba, Canada, and medical school applicant, tells us about his university’s involvement in the week of action organised by the University Coalitions for Global Health (UCGH). He also reflects on the reasons for the increasing interest in global health -RhonaDuring the week of March 24, 2008, the University of Manitoba played host to a lecture series on topics related to “Global Health”. This event was part of a larger “Global Health Week of Action” organized by  Universities Coalitions for Global Health (UCGH)-a network of international health-focused organizations and individuals with a university presence.

The overarching goal of this international campaign was to bring together medical, graduate and undergraduate students to advocate for the right to health for populations that are underserved by drawing attention to a host of pressing issues, including gender inequality, HIV/AIDS, access to clean water, sanitation and essential medicines, and the global healthcare worker shortage.

Here at the University of Manitoba, lecturers spoke about their groundbreaking work in the field of infectious disease, about HIV/AIDS advocacy and activism, and about the relationship between health, politics and culture. In the lecture series’ keynote address, Professor Emeritus Dr Alan Ronald outlined his experience with the university’s global health initiatives in Kenya, Uganda and India and provided advice for students in health disciplines who wish to “change the world” through their life’s work. (more…)

Today, Rafael Bastos, a 2^nd year medical student at the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Brazil asks why medical students are kept in ignorance. O and I have just added a new poll question below given the latest topical events. It is not very related to global health but I would be most interested in your views- Rhona 

Picture from modernartnetwork.net
The art of medicine needs new artists. Medical students are being introduced to the scientific world of medicine everyday but what about the medicine of the medicine de la personne? (1)

I soon learned that medicine was a biological science. However, once I began my clinical training I realized it was much more a humanistic science rather than a biological one. Although scientific knowledge will ever play a very important role in medicine, the dearth of simple and kindly words (2) seem to be threatening the art of patient care.

 Most of my teachers at medical school zero in on their subjects and have no “time” to talk about real patients and the clinical method once described by Sir Robert Hutchinson. Meanwhile, patients still suffer from otherwise preventable “diseases” such as lack of attention, thoughtlessness and fear of the unknown.

 Medical students are kept in ignorance about what medicine really is or should be. And why is that?   (more…)

Yet another important announcement to make today. This time from my Lancet colleague Faith McLellan, and Susan Jupp from the Global Forum for Health Research about the Global Forum/Lancet essay competition for 2008. More details are below-Rhona

Last year’s winners
For the third year in a row, The Lancet is co-sponsoring, along with the Global Forum for Health Research, an essay contest for young authors: Young voices in research for health. The theme of this year’s contest is climate change and health, in particular the research challenges for vulnerable populations. We are looking for original and provocative ideas that deal within the theme of research for health. Authors are encouraged to express their idealism and passion, to take established practices to task, and to suggest innovative ways to examine the issues. The essay may focus on any aspect of the topic about which the author feels strongly-extreme weather, perhaps, or natural disasters, fuels and energy, transport, water, food, demographics, urban planning, and security, to name a few possibilities. We are not looking for a technical or academic treatise. Tables and figures are probably not necessary, and references should be limited. (more…)

Today, on world health day, I am delighted to tell you about the latest Lancet initiative-launched today- as part of our continuing commitment to improve health worldwide: The Lancet Global Health Network. More details about it are below-RhonaThe Lancet launches a new initiative to scale-up its campaigns on global health and to create an archive of science for health and human development

World Health Day on April 7 sees the launch of a new, editorially independent global health initiative called The Lancet Global Health Network. The network will search and archive evidence, commission new analyses, devise programmatic recommendations, formulate proposals, and campaign for action in critical areas of international health and development.

The Lancet Global Health Network’s publications will include disease and country reports, which will focus mainly, but not exclusively, on health in low- and middle-income countries.

Richard Horton, Editor of The Lancet, said: “During the past five years The Lancet has been fortunate to work with some of the best public-health and clinical scientists in global health across the world. Their work in fields as diverse as child survival and mental health, climate change and sexual and reproductive health, has provided the foundation for a new phase in The Lancet’s future. (more…)

Hanni Stoklosa, co-chair of AMSA-IFMSA, Region 1 Director of AMSA and board member of the Global Health Education Consortium rounds up the GHEC conference- Rhona

Hanni
What do each of these presentations have in common?
-”A Health and Human Rights Curricula Assessment of U.S. Public Health and Medical Schools”
-”Fighting Liver Cancer Disparities in the Medically Underserved Asian Community”
-”Puentes de Salud: An Innovative Model for Health Promotion in the Philadelphia Hispanic Community”
The answer?…Students!

As students, we are not merely the future of global health, we are currently the heart of the global health movement. For me, the GHEC conference reinforced this concept once again as I was repeatedly inspired by my peers. How can we continue to be a powerful force of change in this world?

First, we must actively resist allowing the “busyness” of our academic years lull us into a state of passivity towards the issues that brought us into medicine. We must consistently engage in advocacy to create change- from curriculum development to PEPFAR call-ins to die-ins at pharmaceutical company HQs. Our patients, at our doorsteps and around the world, are depending on us.

Second, we need to diversify and form true multisectoral partnerships. I would like to make a plug for the increased involvement of global health leaders from our “allied” health professionals in training. We need nursing students, PA students, dental students, public health students, and fill the blank students! All hands on deck! If you are from any of these disciplines, and would like to apply for the Global Health Education Consortium Advisory Committee, please contact me asap. Hanni Stoklosa:blondieish@gmail.com

Tanyaporn (Tanya) Wansom who among many other things is the AMSA (American Medical Students Assocation)  Chair of the Committee on Global Health now gives her take on the last two days (Thursday and Friday) of the GHEC Conference in Sacremento-Rhona 

 Hi everyone!  This is my first post for The Lancet Student Blog, but I hope there will be many more.  My name is Tanyaporn Wansom and I’m a Thai-American dual degree candidate at University of Michigan, where I’m getting both my MD and an MPP (Master in Public Policy).  In 2008-2009, I’ll be serving as AMSA-IFMSA co-chair (with Hanni Stoklosa from Tufts Med) and also Chair of the Committee on Global Health.  If you have any questions about how to get involved in either group, please contact me or visit www.amsa.org/global

On Thursday I gave a talk entitled, “Global Health Workforce Crisis: Potential Contributions for North American Universities, Faculties, and Students” highlighting the impact the Global North (with an emphasis on the US) was having on the global distribution of human resources for health (HRH) & talked about some ways institutions could work to address the global health workforce crisis.  (more…)

Today’s entry from the International Conference in Emergency Medicine in San Francisco is by Lars Peterson, second year medical student at Rochester University, New York State - RhonaThere’s a line in the movie Grosse Pointe Blank where Minnie Driver’s character says that Martin Blank, the protagonist grappling with his perspective of the world, needs “shakabuku”.  When Blank asks what this means she replies, “Its a swift spiritual kick to the head that alters your reality forever.” (1)

I’ve been in medical school for almost three years and for two of those I’ve been working in the emergency medicine department.  I regularly perform procedures and interact with nurses, residents, physicians, techs, EMTs, administrators, social workers, etc.  Honestly, and perhaps with more than a fair share of hubris, I thought I had a decent view of the overall practice of emergency medicine.  Turns out I need widen my perspective.

Marlow Macht did a great job of sharing the conference through his eyes (here and here).  The way I’d like to take you through this student’s perspective on the day is more about how this conference has fundamentally changed the way I look at emergency medicine on a global level.  I want to talk about my shakabuku in emergency medicine. (more…)

Just to let you know that this week’s Lancet Student podcast is now up where among other things, I chat with Gemma Owens and and Simon Lex, President and Vice-President of Medsin, about the Medsin Global Health Conference in Oxford last weekend. Also, just published is a peer reviewed article by Rachel Jones on multi-drug resistant TB. And I have copied in full for you below the Special Report on the WHO at 60, which includes an interview with Margaret Chan, Director of WHO, which is also mentioned in our Lancet Digest this week.

Lancet Special Report: WHO at 60
On the eve of WHO’s 60th anniversary, Udani Samarasekera asks health and development experts what they think some of the UN agency’s greatest achievements and failures have been and how they believe the organisation needs to change to better address health globally.

On April 7, 1948, WHO’s Constitution came into force, stating the new organisation’s objective as “the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health”. Since then, the achievements of the UN’s specialised agency for health have been many.
Global-health experts cite some of WHO’s disease-control efforts as being the agency’s most impressive, large-scale successes. In 1979, smallpox was eradicated from the world thanks to a 20-year-long effort by WHO and its partners to fight the disease. WHO is also praised widely for the way in which it handled the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003. “WHO showed its potential for strong leadership and political influence” in responding effectively to SARS, say Ruth Levine, vice president for programmes and operations at the Centre for Global Development, an independent think-tank based in the USA. (more…)

Conference season is in full swing and this week, Rhona MacDonald and Richard Lane discuss all the conferences being covered by our roving Lancet Student reporters, The Lancet Student monthly prize, and the 60 year Anniversary of WHO as mentioned in this week’s Lancet Digest. Rhona also chats with Gemma Owens and and Simon Lex, President and Vice-President of Medsin, about the Medsin Global Health Conference in Oxford last weekend.

 

 The Medsin Global Health Conference and more: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download