Mother's Day

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!



This Sunday, May, 8 2011, we celebrate Mother's Day as an American tradition. This holiday was officially started in 1914 when Anna Jarvis convinced the US Congress to designate the second Sunday of May as "Mother's Day."

As Mother's Day reaches its centennial, the United States had 82.8 million mothers celebrating this holiday in 2008, each of those mothers have an average of 2.1 children, according to Census data. In 2003, the U.S. Mortality rate was 12.1 deaths per 100,000 live births. This low maternal mortality rate and fertility rate suggest that the United States may be taking reasonably good care of its mothers. From this standpoint it is quite reasonable that we may feel more comfortable focusing on the high maternal mortality rates in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

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We're Back!

Sorry for the long break! It took us a while but we are back!

We have been busy getting everything set up for the Carter Global Health Fellowship that we are about to launch!

Here is a quick video about the Duke Global Health Masters Degree we learned about while putting together resources for the Carter Fellowship.




For now we have discovered a few more resources that we would like to share:

1) Global Health Magazine: This is a magazine run by the Global Health Council which is the largest global health organization. It is free to read certain topics online. It is a great way to stay up on the current events in global health.

2) Unite for Sight Global Health University Online Resources. I especially like the global health online e-learning resources. We have used quite a few links from this website (ie. modules) as part of the curriculum for the Carter Fellowship.

3) Duke University Global Health Residency - I bet you are already hooked! Global Health residency? How awesome? The only problem is that you should have already done a residency first, this is something additional. But its quite awesome.

And there is also the option of a Masters in Global Health.

Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars Program

The Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars Program is a great program for those out there interested in public health research and clinical science research in a global context. This is a program specifically for students enrolled in a PhD program in the allied health fields including public health.

A brief excerpt on the program from the website:

Would you like a unique chance to experience clinical research training in a developing country? Would you like to work with a strong team of mentors and colleagues on important problems that advance people's health?

The Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars and Fellows (FICRS-F) Support Center at Vanderbilt is offering a one-year clinical research training experience for graduate-level U.S. students in the health professions. This is an opportunity for highly motivated individuals to experience mentored research training at top-ranked NIH-funded research centers in developing countries. 

Fellowship Sites: Mass General Hospital/Bangladesh-ICDDR,B Bangladesh:ICDDR,B Harvard School of Public Health/Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute Weil Cornell Medical Collge/Brazil, Federal Univ of Bahia & FIOCRUZ Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health/China: Beijing - NCAIDS & China CDC China: Beijing - The Cancer Institute and Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CICAMS) UNC Chapel Hill/China: Nanjing - NCSTD & WHO Collaborating Center on Prevention and Control of STIs Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center/China: Shanghai Cancer Institute Weil Cornell Medical College/Haiti: GHESKIO The Miriam Hospital & Brown University/India: Chennai - YR Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University/India: New Delhi - Public Health Foundation of India Tufts University School of Medicine/India: Vellore - Christian Medical College The Miriam Hospital/Brown University/Kenya: Eldoret - Moi University School of Medicine University of Washington/Kenya: Nairobi - University of Nairobi UNC Chapel Hill/Malawi: Lilongwe - UNC Project University of Maryland/Mali: Bamako - University of Bamako/Mali Service Center Univ. of Washington/Peru: Lima - Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Investigacion Medica en Salud Johns Hopkins School of Public Health/Peru: Lima - Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, A.B. PRISMA Mailman School of Public Health,Columbia University/South Africa: Cape Town - Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in S. Africa CAPRISA Harvard School of Public Health/Tanzania: Dar es Salaam - Muhimbili University of Health & Allied Sciences Duke University/Tanzania: Moshi - Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center Johns Hopkins School of Public Health/Thailand: Bangkok - Chiang Mai University Case Western Reserve University/Uganda: Kampala - Joint Clinical Research Centre Uganda: Mulago Hospital Complex University of Alabama at Birmingham/Zambia: Lusaka - Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia Wow! Here is a profile of a WOMAN who is taking the Fogarty Fellowship on. She is an M.D./Ph.D. student at VCU School of Medicine/Medical College of Virginia who is a Fogarty Fellow. I love the way that she describes the program and how  she is combining clinical research and her interest in global health: During her year abroad, Kuchta will partner with Taufiqur Rahman Bhuyian, an M.Sc./Ph.D. candidate from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and they will be mentored by Stephen Calderwood, M.D., with the Harvard Medical School, and Firdausi Qadri, Ph.D., with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research. The team’s lab work will focus on understanding the body’s immune cell response - findings that could one day help researchers develop a vaccine against cholera. Kuchta hopes to become a physician-scientist in the field of global medicine.

Win a Trip with Nicholas Kristof!

So I have to admit that Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn really won me over with Half the Sky. I brought the book advance before it even came out because I am really obsessed with the topic of international women's health. The Fall 2009 semester came and it was a mega doozy so I really only began to read this book seriously this winter break. I finished it and I LOVED this book. It was great because it was organized with anecdotes of Nick and Sheryl's actual experiences and women that they met as journalists. Then what I liked is that it went beyond this and also included information about people making a difference and felt like it was about empowerment and about starting a movement towards real change.

Anyway so I was looking at Nick's blog for the New York Times called, On the Ground, that I also posted on here. It was great because there is where I found out about this opportunity! You should definitely apply! Last years candidate was a medical student and it seemed like she had a great and eye opening experience travelling with Nick Kristof. I am going to see if I can find her email or something so I can maybe interview her for this blog to find out what that experience was like.

For now check this opportunity out! I think all you AMWA members out there should apply for this. There is so much good that you could do with such an opportunity:

1) It is an all expenses paid trip to not meet women abroad and find out what are the things that are going on in their lives

2) It is also an opportunity probably to make a direct difference in the lives of these women because although Nick Kristof is a journalist it seems like he always takes some sort of action in these most dire situations

Volunteer with Largest Global Health Conference

The largest global health organization is the Global Health Council. I do not have alot direct experience with this organization but I know that they do alot and that there annual conference is the largest global health conference.  Here is some information on how to volunteer at the conference from the website:

The Helping Handz Conference Volunteer program, now in its 37th year, is an important opportunity for Council members to directly contribute to the overall success of the conference program.

Student and professional volunteers assist in a number of conference administrative duties that are essential to daily conference operations.

Why Volunteer?

• Interact and network with more than 2500 global health and development specialists from over 85 countries
• Limited hours of service (8-10 minimum) allow you to make a significant contribution to the overall success of the conference, while being able to participate in sessions and events
• Meet new colleagues and have fun
• Receive a substantial registration discount

Who Should Volunteer?
All individuals with an interest in global health – students are especially encouraged to apply.
It's a benefit of Council membership! You must be or become a current Council member in order to volunteer. Non-members are not eligible, but may choose to become new members. If your organization is a member with an organizational dues level of $1,050 or above, you may qualify to become a member at no additional cost to you. Questions: Contact Kelly Gardner, Membership Assistant via e-mail at membership@globalhealth.org.

Student Members: It's like having a backstage pass!
This is a great opportunity to take advantage of the additional networking and learning opportunities that being a volunteer provides.

Groups of students from universities, schools of public health and student organizations are encouraged to volunteer.

Thanks so much to Misty for passing this on! 

MSF Global Health Film Event this Monday in Theatres

Check out the new Medicins San Frontiers (Doctors without Borders) trailer for their upcoming Film Event titled "Living in Emergency". It will be playing in theatres this Monday December 14, 2009 only. It will be an interesting look at global health career as lived on the ground. I could recognize Liberia (where I was born) in the trailer so I am assuming that at least some of it will be about the Liberian civil war. And it is. Tickets are available from the website, it is only a one day theatre showing so make sure to get your tickets soon!


Here is some information about the film:

"Filmed in the war-zones of Liberia and Congo with unprecedented access to the field operations of Doctors without Borders/Medecins San Fronteres (MS), LIVING IN EMERGENCY follows four volunteer doctors as they struggle to provide emergency medical care under extreme conditions.

Two volunteers are new recruits: a 26-year old Australian doctor stranded in a remote bush clinic and an American surgeon struggling to cope under the load of emergency cases in a shattered capital city.

Two others are experienced field hands: a dynamic Head of Mission, valiantly trying to keep morale high and tensions under control, and an exhausted veteran who has seen too much horror and wants out.

Admist the chaos, each volunteer must contront the severe challenges of the work, the tough choices and the limites of their own idealism.

The film is arw and very real depiction of the dilemmas facing MSF staff in the feild and the toll their work can take on them both personally and professionally. It is not a pretty film about MSF heroes or heroines. It is about the reality of aid work- blood and sweat, tough decision snad hard consequences, laughter and tears, cagarettes and beer, arguments and all."

AMWA National Conference 2010

The AMWA National Conference 2010 will be held on March 26-28, 2010 in Washington DC. It will be a great opportunity for students and there will be student specific programming. The student track looks like it will be AMAZING and if you notice there will be a special session on AMWA Global Health Initiatives. Check out the website:

http://www.bioconferences.com/Conferences/WomensHealth/index.aspx

Please take the time to look through the schedule for the Student Track (taken from the conference website):

AMWA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2010
OPTIONAL STUDENT TRACK
Saturday, March 27
Choice of Student Sessions or Women’s Health Congress Sessions
7:00am Congress Breakfast Symposium 8:30 - 9:00am Welcome & Opening Remarks – AMWA Student Track 9:00 -10:00am Keynote Speaker: "How to Balance It All"
10:00 -10:15am Break
10:15 -10:45am How to be Successful in your Academic Years
10:45 -11:15am How to be Successful in your Clinical Years
11:15am -12:00pm AMWA Partnerships: Building Bridges
12:00 -1:30pm Lunch and Student Elections
1:30 - 2:30pm AMWA Global Health Initiatives
2:30 - 3:15pm Managing the Cost of a Medical Education
3:15 - 3:30pm Break
3:30 - 4:30 pm The Hostile Work Environment: Gender Discrimination and
Sexual Harassment
4:30 - 4:45pm AWMA Incentives and Benefits
4:45 - 5:00pm Adjourn
5:30 - 6:30pm Mentoring Reception 7:00pm AMWA 95th Anniversary and Awards Gala
Student Quilt Presentation