Global Health
Global Health Heading link
Serve and learn in Vellore, India Heading link
The Department of Family and Community Medicine has a relationship with Christian Medical College (CMC), in Vellore, India, and has been sponsoring annual trips to Vellore since 2010 as either a fourth-year medical student or resident elective experience. The joint group spends four weeks at Christian Medical College working with our own faculty and the faculty of the Department of Family Medicine at CMC.
CMC is a non-profit medical school, hospital and research institute in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India. CMC has two main campuses in Vellore, which employ 1,528 physicians and 2,400 nurses, and has 143 departments and clinical specialties. The faculty in the family medicine department provide services at the Community Health Department (CHAD); the Low-Cost Effective Care Unit (LCECU); the Shalom clinic; and the Rural Unit for Health and Social Affairs (RUHSA).
These clinics collectively respond to the health care needs of the urban dwellers living in informal settlements as well as rural communities. The unit is staffed by 75 employees and comprises four family physicians, two community medicine physicians, a pharmacy, a laboratory, and a 48-bed ward including a labor room. In 2019, the LCECU saw 77,875 patients. Patients receive free consultations and are admitted for subsidized care if needed.
Our students and residents gain highly relevant exposure to global medicine as well as an experience in a different cultural landscape. English is the spoken language at CMC. As a part of this experience, each student or resident makes a formal presentation upon return to the College of Medicine Rockford.
Planning for the annual rotation typically occurs in April of each year with travel during the month of February.