Public Health in Ecuador
Experience Ecuador’s diverse cultures and geography, from Ecuador’s most populous, vibrant and modern tropical coastal city to a small city in the Amazon basin, considered a frontier town before entering the vast Amazon, the world’s largest tropical rainforest with unparalleled biodiversity, containing 1 of every 10 species on earth.
This program offers a unique opportunity to explore community-based medicine in a variety of settings, from the public hospital in a big urban setting to a small public primary healthcare clinic at the edge of the rainforest. Learn how communities in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s most populous city, and Puyo, a small city on the Amazon rainforest, are addressing their most pressing health challenges including chronic, infectious, and vector-borne diseases, all while improving your Spanish and gaining insights into public health realities in Ecuador, indigenous cultures, and community medicine.
CFHI is considered a global health ethics leader, upholding strict standards and complying with all local laws regarding student involvement in health settings. Your experience on the program depends on your previous clinical training (if applicable), Spanish level, and the relationship you build with your supervising preceptor. Students must be respectful, inquisitive, and open to the wide variety of learning experiences which you will encounter.
Internship assignments vary. While internships help develop technical abilities, they provide more fundamental life skills. Interns will get an introduction to the professional world as well as the opportunity to gain career ready competencies in critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, and global and intercultural fluency.
Qualifications:
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to work independently
- Flexibility to take on multiple job responsibilities, including entry level tasks
- Ability to take initiative, work independently and deal with ambiguity
- Good interpersonal skills and the ability to work on a team
- Strong attention to accuracy, details, and organizational skills
Students will enroll in 2 courses for a total of 12 quarter credits.
Course #1: GlobalWorks International Internship
This internship helps students connect their academic studies to practical applications. Students develop professional skills while gaining exposure to the dynamic culture and lifestyle in their host country.
Course #2: Intercultural Communication (online)
This course is designed to provide ongoing support to students doing internships abroad. Students will observe, explore and investigate the core cultural values in their host country during the internship, conduct comparison in the differences between their host and home country, and develop critical thinking skills and culture learning strategies. A weekly assignment for the online course includes: reading assignments, group discussions and a weekly journal. It will begin one week before your internship begins and end one week after completion. Due to the intense nature of interning, in addition to taking the 4-credit course, we recommend you do not enroll for any other classes during the internship period.
Minimum GPA: 2.75
Intermediate Spanish or higher required.
Estimated program costs and a detailed budget of projected expenses can be found on the Locations and Costs page.
Questions?
Please contact Elly Vandegrift, GlobalWorks STEM and Healthcare Program Coordinator
Email: ellyvan@uoregon.edu
Phone: 541-346-6806