New degree in international health starts in UK
BMJ 2001; 323 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.323.7317.827/a (Published 13 October 2001) Cite this as: BMJ 2001;323:827All rapid responses
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I am happy to learn of this new degree in international health and
agree with Dr B S Syed that it is about time for such and initiative but
that there is also a need for similar post graduate courses. Furthermore,
I hope that such a PG course would also include people with degrees other
than medicine, such as social scientists and others who work and have a
special interest in the field of international health. What about a
masters in international health?
Competing interests: No competing interests
It is wonderful to see such innovation in undergraduate teaching.
International health issues have been a neglected area in traditional
medical curricula and one hopes that the situation changes over time. The
introduction of an intercalated degree in international health is a sound
first step.
Where does that leave postgraduate education in international health? An
international health perspective should be an essential part of the
training received by doctors in all specialities and one would hope that
PG training will reflect this. If one chooses to develop a career in
international health there should be clear paths that one could take. All
too often in the current situation one is forced to create 'a path' of
ones own with little structure and little guidance. I look forward to more
opportunities and more guidance for postgraduate training in international
health from all the Royal Colleges.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Teaching health equity to medical students
WE were very interested to read of the BSc degree in international
health now offered by the International Health and Medical Education
Centre at University College London, which aims to provide students with
an understanding of health and care in the context of increasing
globalisation (BMJ 2001;323:827 13 October). We at the University of
Newcastle, Australia, have this year introduced a "health equity
selective" (HES) to the second year programme for students in the Bachelor
of Medicine degree. For four weeks at the end of their academic year
students live and work among multi-disciplinary health professionals in
either a developing country (usually Asia or South America), an aged care
service, a rural/remote community, or a health service serving Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Like the degree in international
health, the health equity selective aims reinforce a holistic appreciation
of health in students and enable them to consider health equity related
factors in their professional endeavours.
The University of Newcastle medical school was the first in Australia
to adopt a problem-based approach to medical education (in 1978), and, we
believe, continues a strong tradition of innovation in learning with the
development of health equity selectives. Importantly, their health equity
selective forms part of the self-directed learning component of a
student's study, combining a unique chance to focus on aspects of
inequalities in health while acquiring skills in project development and
evaluation. We are presently undertaking research about teaching health
equity to undergraduates, and would welcome input about other methods or
structures used.
Dr Rosemary Aldrich
Conjoint Lecturer in Public Health
Student Supervisor HES
Professor Robert G Batey
Deputy Dean
Director HES
Dr Heraldo Povea-Pacci
Senior Lecturer in Human Anatomy and
International Co-ordinator HES
Mrs Tracey Fisk
Project Officer HES
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences,
University of Newcastle,
New South Wales,
Australia
Competing interests: No competing interests