Description and evaluation of a clerkship in International Health and Medicine

Background and Objectives: In 1998 Ben-Gurion University, in collaboration with Columbia University, inaugurated the first medical school with the express purpose of training students in International Health and Medicine (IHM). The highlight of the program is the two-month clerkship in IHM. The purpose of this paper is to describe the IHM clerkship and report the preliminary results of an evaluation. Methods: To evaluate the impact of the clerkship on the students' attitudes and knowledge of IHM, the students were asked to complete a previously validated self-assessment questionnaire before and after the clerkship. Results: Ninety-six students participated in the IHM clerkship in the first 3 years. The mean age of the students was 29.4 ± 4 and 53% were female. Comparison of the student's answers before their departure and after their return showed a significant difference in 5 of 64 items on the questionnaire. There was also a significant increase in the overall scores of the female students but no change in the scores of the male students pre- and post-clerkship. Discussion and Conclusions: Our results show that students who completed the clerkship modestly increased their knowledge of some aspects of IHM as measured by the survey. Further studies on the long-term impact of IHM experiences are needed in parallel with efforts to increase medical students' exposure to IHM.