Immerse yourself in the vibrant culture and complex healthcare landscape of Oaxaca.
The southern state of Oaxaca is the most ethnically and linguistically diverse state in Mexico. It is home to a vibrant craft and art scene, outstandingly colorful festivities amongst beautiful architecture and unique cuisine. Despite its cultural riches, Oaxaca ranks among the country’s most impoverished states, lags in its health and economic indicators, and faces a complex social environment.
There are two specified options for 4th/6th year medical student rotations in Oaxaca, Mexico: Emergency Medicine and General Surgery.
Emergency Medicine: It is estimated that 24–28 million people die annually from conditions that require emergency care, and this accounts for 51% of all mortality and 42% of the global disease burden. The burden of disease of emergency conditions is 4.4 times higher in low/middle-income countries compared to high income countries. For those pursuing emergency medicine or related fields, this rotation takes place in a teaching hospital in the northern part of Oaxaca City and is an opportunity to see emergency care in action internationally. The Emergency Room is busy with a myriad of presentations – including accidents, infections, acute exacerbations of chronic disease, and more.
This rotation will highlight the centrality of emergency medical care in global health health systems
General Surgery: The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery put forth recommendations for improvement in global surgical care systems in 2015. The commission suggests six indicators to monitor access and quality of surgery: access to timely essential surgery (less than 2 hours), specialist surgical workforce density (20 surgical specialists per 100,000 population), surgical volume (5,000 procedures per 100,000 population), perioperative mortality (goal is to collect data and then set targets), protection against impoverishing expenditures (expenditures that result in putting a family below the poverty line), protection against catastrophic expenditure (expenditures that threaten the household’s ability to maintain its subsistence needs).
They also described The Three Delays framework to understand why people who need surgical care do not get it. The First Delay—the delay in seeking care—occurs when patients often wait to seek health care because of financial and geographic restrictions, cultural beliefs, poor education, a history of being disconnected from formal health systems, and low awareness of available services or low confidence in those services. The Second Delay—the delay in reaching care—occurs when hospitals with surgical capacity are scarce, meaning the nearest facility can be hours to days away, depending on the mode of transportation. The Third Delay—the delay in receiving care—occurs when attendance at a hospital does not guarantee treatment, due to staffing, availability of operating rooms, sterile instruments, and other requirements of safe surgical care.
General surgery addresses a wide swath of conditions at the hospital – including GI surgeries, thyroid disease, abscesses, and more.
This rotation takes place in a teaching hospital in the northern part of Oaxaca CIty. You will rotate alongside local medical students and residents – allowing for exchange of ideas and perspectives.
This rotation requires beginner Spanish, see our self-assessment guide here.
Start your application today!
To apply, select “Global Health in Mexico (Oaxaca).” After you fill out the application forms and receive confirmation of acceptance from the CFHI team, please indicate your preferred elective focus under the placement preferences section in your dashboard.