Beirut, Lebanon

Spring 2026

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 $1000 of additional support for the AUBMC clinical rotation. Complimentary accommodations will be provided, but these funds will help offset the cost of in-country transportation and visas. Students will need to cover the remaining expenses from other funds, as the cost of this rotation will likely exceed the amount provided through the Global Health Program.

Interviews for this elective will take place on Saturday, September 27, 2025, with limited availability on select dates in the prior week. Students selected for this rotation are required to participate in a mandatory full-day pre-departure training program in Los Angeles on Saturday, January 31, 2026. Upon return home from Beirut, students will be expected to provide feedback through written evaluations and to participate in a mandatory early afternoon feedback session on Thursday, May 28, 2026. Separate from this, students will be asked to attend a site-specific debrief to be arranged upon return from Beirut 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 April 13, 2026, through May 1st, 2026. Note that an April 13 start date will require departure from the U.S. by April 10, 2026, at the latest.

Questions regarding this rotation should be directed to Dr. Traci Wells at TWells@mednet.ucla.edu.