The Global Health Academic Concentration
Follow UC San Diego School of Medicine's GHAC students around the world.
On my first morning in Quito, I stepped onto the third-story balcony of my host family’s home and was met with a quiet, beautiful surprise—a bright rainbow stretching across the misty sky. I had arrived the day before on a red-eye flight and, still adjusting to the altitude, had gone straight to bed. Waking up … Continue reading Inside Ecuador’s Healthcare System: My Time at a Centro de Salud- Quito, Ecuador
If someone had told me a few years ago that I’d finish medical school standing in an operating room in Mozambique—scrubbed in for a C-section or vaginal hysterectomy after just helping deliver twins and triaging a gynecologic emergency—I might have smiled and said, “That sounds like the dream.” And it absolutely was. Returning to Hospital … Continue reading A Beautiful Return: GHAC Rotation Reflection – Hospital Central de Maputo, Maputo, Mozambique, 2025
Bahiana Escola De MedicinaIt was an honor to spend my final clinical rotation of medical school in Salvador, the vibrant coastal capital of Bahia, Brazil. Throughout the month, I worked in outpatient clinics affiliated with the Bahia Escola de Medicina, rotating through cardiology, gastroenterology, and rheumatology. Each day, I joined final-year medical students for patient … Continue reading Experiencing Brazil’s Public Healthcare in Salvador, Bahia
Hola from Huanchaco! The infamous Huanchaco red bus that runs between Trujillo (the neighboring city) and Huanchaco. I am writing from Huanchaco, Peru, a small beach town in the northern part of the country, where a fellow medical student and I are participating in a clinical rotation as part of the GHAC curriculum. Our rotation … Continue reading Clinical Rotations and Community Health in Peru
My time at the National Children’s Hospital in Hanoi was transformative. Days started early with a quick walk through the bustling hospital grounds, past vendors selling sticky rice and pho. By 8 AM, we were in scrubs reviewing the OR schedule. I worked closely with Dr. Quang, a pediatric urologist whose surgical precision was matched … Continue reading Clinical Insights from a Pediatric Urology Rotation in Vietnam
I have been working at two local shelters (work closely with Jewish Family Services and Catholic Charities) in San Diego that serve as the Asylum Clinic. For background, an individual who is seeking asylum is a person who has left their country and is seeking protection from persecution and serious human rights violations in another … Continue reading The Asylum Clinic – San Diego
Hola! Checking in again from San Jose, Costa Rica. Since I last wrote to you, I have worked in two different medical environments. I spent my 3rd week at Hospital San Rafael in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Alajuela is around 45 minutes from San Jose and much hotter than San Jose. I had the opportunity to … Continue reading Last Two Weeks of Medical School in Costa Rica
The first two weeks of my border health rotation were spent at the Red Cross in Tijuana. According to the 2000 U.S. National Census, approximately 49 percent of residents living in a border town are Hispanic, mostly of Mexican origin. They mix with people of other ethnic groups throughout the border region, including non-Hispanic whites, … Continue reading Border Health Rotation at Red Cross in Tijuana
¡Buenos Días! from San Jose, Costa Rica! My name is Jordan. I am a MS4 in the Global Health Academic Concentration (GHAC) at UC San Diego School of Medicine. I am so excited to tell you a little bit about my adventures in San Jose, Costa Rica. I am working in San Jose for 4 … Continue reading ¡Buenos Días! from San Jose, Costa Rica!
When I joined the GHAC program, I knew that I wanted to travel to Sub-Saharan Africa. I was eager to understand more about the region, and to have an opportunity to learn from physicians, fellow students, and patients there. Fortunately, I found a project working with American physicians Dr. Sierra Washington and Christy Zachek, and … Continue reading Mapping maputo