Beirut, Lebanon
Spring 2024
Description
The Global Health Program has established a relationship with the Faculty of Medicine at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is a private university, established in 1886 and chartered in New York City. The university’s academic medical center, AUB Medical Center (AUBMC), offers comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care across a robust set of specialties and subspecialties.
AUBMC’s inpatient hospital is a tertiary, regional referral center. The outpatient department is housed next to the hospital and includes the following specialties: dermatology, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and surgery.
While rotating at AUBMC, DGSOM students will have the opportunity to care for patients presenting with a variety of pathologies and diseases, and from different historical, cultural, and social backgrounds that reflect the past and current political and economic instability that has impacted large portions of the population. Of note, the 2020 explosion in Beirut’s main port, the pandemic, and recent financial crises have resulted in massive devaluation of Lebanon’s currency and inequities in access to health services.
DGSOM students can rotate on a variety of services while at AUBMC, including anesthesiology, clinical pathology/laboratory medicine, dermatology, diagnostic radiology, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine (and subspecialties), obstetrics/gynecology, otolaryngology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and surgery (and subspecialities).
In addition, DGSOM students may have the opportunity to engage with patients in a variety of community health clinics through the student-led AUBMCares initiative. Students who are interested in global health research and who are committed to a more longitudinal relationship with AUB can be connected with the AUB Global Health Institute.
The rotation in Beirut has been developed with formal goals and objectives. We are seeking students with an interest in caring for populations with limited access to care, and those with enthusiasm for global health and learning about a unique public health system. Students will be expected to demonstrate the highest level of maturity, professionalism, and cultural humility. Familiarity with the Arabic language may be helpful to increase comfort and engagement across clinical encounters, but is not mandatory. Efforts will be made to pair UCLA students with AUB students to facilitate communication in Arabic.
Details
Students will receive roundtrip airfare and $1,000 of additional support for the Lebanon clinical rotation. These funds will offset the cost of in-country accommodation and food. Students will need to cover the remaining expenses from other funds, as the cost of this rotation will likely exceed the amount provided by GHP.
Interviews for this elective will take place on Saturday, September 9, 2023, and limited time window(s) after September 9th. Students selected for this rotation are required to participate in a mandatory full-day pre-departure training program in Los Angeles on Saturday, February 10, 2024. Upon return home from Lebanon, students will be expected to provide feedback through written evaluations and to participate in a mandatory lunchtime feedback session on Thursday, May 30, 2024. Separate from this, students will be asked to attend a site-specific debrief to be arranged upon return from Thailand and prior to graduation.
Rotation dates for this elective have been confirmed. Students applying to this three-week elective must be able to commit to this elective from March 18, 2024, through April 5, 2024. Note that a March 18 start date will require departure from the U.S. by March 16, 2024, at the latest.
Questions regarding this rotation should be directed to Dr. Traci Wells at TWells@mednet.ucla.edu.