Office of Global Health

The mission of the Office of Global Health in the Department of Internal Medicine is to address global health disparities through education and research, in partnership with institutions serving resource-limited communities around the world.

We build equity-focused, mutually respectful, collaborative relationships with partner institutions to create opportunities for bidirectional educational exchange. Since its inception in 2009, the Office of Global Health has trained the next generation of health care leaders to incorporate critical perspectives on global health systems and the evolving burden of disease into their future practice. Additionally, our programs promote skill development related to enhancing cross-cultural communication and collaboration, navigating ethical challenges, and addressing social, political, and environmental determinants of health.

Through the Global Health Scholars Program, the Office of Global Health offers six-week clinical rotations for U.S. trainees at domestic and international partner health care facilities under the supervision of local colleagues. Trainees learn how medicine is practiced in a different clinical setting in a distinct cultural context. Trainees also offer medical education to local students and trainees at these partnering institutions.

The Department of Internal Medicine began supporting global health clinical rotations for residents in 1981. Since 2001, the Yale/Stanford Global Health Scholars program has trained over 960 residents, fellows, and faculty through these clinical rotations; 62% of scholars have been from Yale.

The Office of Global Health brings colleagues from international partner sites to Yale for clinical observership training. These clinicians spend up to twelve months in New Haven engaging in individually tailored knowledge and skill development programs, then return to their home institutions to implement what they have learned.

Since 2009, over 50 individuals from partner institutions in Uganda, Rwanda, Indonesia, Liberia, and Haiti have participated in these capacity building exchanges and have subsequently strengthened their home institutions, as well as other institutions in their home countries.

Additionally, under the umbrella of the Makerere University/Yale University (MUYU) Collaboration, we partner with the Yale Office of Global Health Education and Visiting Student Programs to bring senior medical students from the Makerere University School of Medicine to Yale for four-week-long clinical rotations.

The Office of Global Health hosts the Global Health & Equity Distinction Pathway, one of five Distinction Pathways in the Department of Internal Medicine residency training programs. The Global Health and Equity Distinction Pathway incorporates mentorship that supports residents in completing a set of requirements comprised of clinical and non-clinical learning opportunities, including didactics, communication skills, and scholarship. Trainees are also required to participate in an immersive clinical elective, and to complete and present a scholarly project.

The Office of Global Health provides administrative support and serves as the education lead for the Yale Refugee Health Program, a multidisciplinary effort that includes the core providers from the Yale Adult and Pediatric Refugee clinics. The office hosts annual community-focused training sessions and workshops for clinicians, trainees, and students, and works with local agencies, as well as the leadership of Yale New Haven Health, Cornell Scott Hill Health Center, and Fair Haven Community Health Care, to strengthen care for refugees who have resettled in the greater New Haven area.

In addition to providing training and research opportunities for residents, fellows, and faculty in the Department of Internal Medicine, the Office of Global Health supports opportunities for trainees and faculty in the Departments of Emergency Medicine, Neurology, Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Pediatrics, and Surgery, as well as students across Yale Schools of Medicine (medical and physician associate), of Nursing, and of Public Health. Other university partners include the Yale Institute for Global Health and the Yale Center for Asylum Medicine.

We collaborate with the following partners to offer training:

• Makerere University/Yale University (MUYU) Collaboration, Kampala, Uganda
• University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK), Kigali, Rwanda
• Church of Scotland Hospital & Philanjalo NGO, Tugela Ferry, South Africa
• United States partner sites:
  • Connecticut
  • Tennessee
  • Arizona

Reciprocally, residents, fellows, physicians, and faculty travel to Yale School of Medicine’s campus in New Haven to gain additional training. Visitors on campus in 2023–2024 include:

• Dr. Christine Sekaggya Wiltshire (Hematology) – Uganda
• Dr. Ivan Kimuli (Pulmonology) – Uganda
• Dr. Susan Adakun (Pulmonology) – Uganda

Want a list of previous visitors? See Visitors on Campus.