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Core Competencies

Global Health Track

​​The Global Health Track focuses on the following core competencies:

      1. Public Health and Deve​lopment
        1. Know the major causes of illness, morbidity and mortality in various regions and people of the world, and the public health efforts being made to address them.
        2. Understand the social and environmental determinants of health in developing countries, including the impact of economics, education, water, sanitation, hygiene, and food accessibility.
        3. Understand the basic perspectives on development theory, and the role of health in economic and social development.
      2. Health Systems and Interventions
        1. Compare and contrast different global health care systems, the role of the government and different health professionals within these systems.
        2. Identify major governmental and non-governmental health organizations and funders, and how their policies and approaches impact global health.
        3. Understand the variety, the strengths and shortcomings of intervention strategies that are being used to address problems in global health.
      3. Ethics, Cultural Competency and Communication
        1. Understand the ethical issues surrounding the practice of global health, including the right to health and the role that foreign medical students and healthcare professionals play in the provision, access and quality of healthcare.
        2. Develop cross-cultural knowledge and effective communication skills with patients while facing language and cultural barriers.
        3. Understand how to effectively advocate on behalf of patients, families, and the disadvantaged to change policies and to reduce health disparities.
        4. Understand how to educate patients, health workers, and the public in resource-poor settings on healthy behaviors and health care.
      4. Clinical Skills
        1. Develop familiarity with presentation, diagnosis, management and prevention of common and tropical diseases including malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea, neonatal infections, HIV, TB, parasites, dehydration and malnutrition.
        2. Understand how to practice medicine in resource-deficient settings to maximize patient care and health outcomes.