Guidelines for Students pursuing an International Elective

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• Students must reach out to IMEP at least 4 months in advance to start planning process.
  
  
  1. Please email imep-ghp@umassmed.edu before planning any travel
  2. They will need to identify a UMass Chan faculty advisor for the trip
• There are UMass Chan partner sites which would make the process of approval faster as these are long-term collaborations with agreements in place. They are listed with faculty advisors below. 

1. 1. Gujarat, India (Chrutar Arogya Mandal): Nisha Fahey, DO (maternal/fetal population health) or Anindita Deb, MD (neurology)
   2. Kisumu, Kenya (KEMRI): Ann Moormann, PhD (immunology)
   3. Cochabamba, Bolivia (IDH): Doug Golenbock, MD, PhD (ID)
   4. Dominican Republic (IDEV): Doug Golenbock, MD, PhD
   5. Dominican Republic: La Romana Clinica de Familia: Michele Pugnaire, MD (https://clinicadefamilia.org.do/)
   6. Monrovia, Liberia: Patricia McQuilkin, MD (pediatrics)
   7. Bahamas and Thailand: Bo Wang, PhD (Implementation research of evidenced-based HIV intervention, mHealth)
   8. Vietnam: Hoa Nguyen, PhD
   9. Chengdu, China (West China Hospital) (also opportunities in Beijing and Shanghai): Hui Zou, Guangping Gao [not available]

Other established opportunities

1. 1. Dominican Republic (La Romana) BHI: Michele Pugnaire and Jean Boucher– this is a group trip generally in the Spring
   2. Ben Gurion, Israel: selective experience through Dean’s office
   3. UMass Chan Radiology Travel Grant for 4^th year travel: Max Rosen, MD, MPH
   4. Other opportunities with various surgical subspecialties: Muriel Cleary, MD
   5. Plastic surgery: Joyce McIntyre, MD

• For international language programs, the sites listed below are recommended. If the student wants to pursue a different site, please have them reach out to IMEP at least 4 months in advance. We encourage programs with BOTH language and cultural immersion or medical exposure.

1. 1. Hispania Escuela de Español, Valencia, Spain:  https://www.hispania-valencia.com/en/   
   2. Pop Wuj Spanish School, Guatemala: http://www.pop-wuj.org/
   3. Cacha Medical Spanish Institute, Ecuador: http://www.cachamsi.com/

For in-country Spanish language electives, Maria Garcia will be coordinating these. Would advise contacting her at least 3 months in advance (garciaMD@umassmed.edu).

• For domestic experiences either through an NGO or institution, would recommend discussing with IMEP at least 4 months in advance. Some programs require a letter of agreement.

Items that a student must complete to gain full approval of an international experience [Of note, you will need travel approval in order to receive credit for this elective]

1. Select a UMass Chan Faculty advisor for your trip who will review objectives of trip with you and sign-off on the Internal Experience Request form
2. Submit the Internal Experience Request form to IMEP for approval and Signature  
3. Submit any paperwork related to your elective (proof of acceptance). Complete required documentation per International Support Services (ISS) which may include a Letter of Agreement (LOA) with host site/program (internationalsupportservices@umassmed.edu)  
4. Complete the on-line UMass Chan Travel Registration https://travelregistry.umasscs.net/ and note Pawel Chojnowski as the approver. This step should be done once you know your exact dates of travel. You can log in using your UMassMed credentials.  And be sure to complete the International Travel Questionnaire to facilitate review.

Also, please ensure to do the following prior to travel

5. Please review the UMass Chan Pre-Travel checklist which can be found on the ISS website (https://www.umassmed.edu/international-support-services/)
6. Register travel with the U.S. State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/step.html). This step should be done once you know your exact dates of travel.
7. Review the CDC’s health information for travelers to the country of your destination (which can be found here), and if appropriate, make an appointment with a health care provider to discuss pre-travel health issues and vaccinations (at least 2 months in advance). Health care providers may include the following: 

UMass Chan Student Health (508-334-2818)
Pedi ID/Immunology/Travel (774-442-3947)- for ages 24 and younger
UMass Chan Travel Clinic (508-334 -5481)
our Primary Care Provider
Passport Health: Private travel clinic in Worcester (365 Main St)- may be out-of-pocket

After returning from travel, please ensure to submit a Global Health Trip Report which can be found at the following link.

https://repository.escholarship.umassmed.edu/handle/20.500.14038/13
You will need to login to the site with your UMass Chan credentials to access the collection.

Updated MAY 30 2023 | cjb