Virtual Global & Public Health Internship - Mexico
The Virtual Global & Public Health Internship offers undergraduate, pre-health, and graduate-level participants the unique opportunity to learn foundational, industry-specific skills for careers in Global Health, Public Health, and related fields. Through virtual seminars and meetings, interns will explore how communities in Mexico are addressing their most pressing health challenges.
Program components:
- Competency-informed readings and content
- Intercultural training through CFHI partner Aperian Global
- 30 hours of Spanish instruction
- Virtual sessions led by CFHI Global Partners, who are experts in local health systems and culture. *Lectures will be given in Spanish.
- Facilitated group reflection sessions
- Cultural learning/virtual immersion
- Seminars on health topics
- Depending on the location, this may include project-based work to deepen understanding of local health realities and support operations and objectives of the host organization/partners
The Virtual Global & Public Health Internship is an unpaid experience. Student fees will be used to compensate CFHI's Global Partners-- in line with our Fair Trade commitment.
Duration
Dr. Magaly Chavez- CFHI Oaxaca Medical Director:
Dr. Chavez is an expert on socioeconomic determinants of health and healthcare delivery strategies in low-resource settings. She is a general practitioner and works in the Emergency Room in a local hospital. Dr. Chavez has worked with CFHI since 2011 and enjoys teaching students about the healthcare system and healthcare realities in Oaxaca. She has grown personally and professionally from her interactions with CFHI participants, and enjoys being a part of their training as future healthcare workers. In her free time she enjoys reading, dancing and listening to music. Dr. Chavez has also completed several triathlons.
Marta Canseco and Sandra Rivera- CFHI Oaxaca Local Coordinators: Sandra and Marta are experts on Oaxacan culture and the Spanish language. Together, they are co-directors of a local language school in Oaxaca, which has been in operation for over 20 years. They have extensive experience in running cultural immersion programs for students and have been working with CFHI since 2004. Sandra has a diploma in Teaching Spanish as a second language from Universidad Autónoma de México. In her free time she enjoys cooking desserts, going to the movies, and spending time with her family.
Marta is a certified Spanish instructor and completed her training at Universidad Benito Juárez de Oaxaca and Universidad Autónoma de México. She is also a Dental Surgeon with her own clinic. She loves all music, especially dance music from the 80s.
Below is a one-week sample schdule. Partcipants should expect 20-25 hours of work/week. Please note that your virtual internship may not look excatly like the sample schedule. It is only meant to give you an idea of what to expect.
This CFHI program is ideal for students who have a foundation in Spanish and have an interest in health and medicine in small town and rural settings. Non-students are also eligible. To confirm whether you're eligible to apply, please read CFHI's general eligibility requirements.
Minimum Language Required: Beginner 1 Spanish or Above
Beginner 1 Spanish: “I can speak a little and understand at times if people speak slowly and clearly.”
- I can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and simple phrases to get across basic needs.
- I can introduce others and myself. I can ask and answer questions for example where I live, people I know and things I have.
Leading this program on-site are our on-site partners (see Local Team tab), all of whom share Spanish as their native language, but may speak English as well. To provide authentic learning experiences translators are not provided. Daily interactions will be in Spanish, but CFHI’s local team is able to support and help you through your experience.
All CFHI participants applying to programs in Latin America will evaluate their Spanish language skills as part of their application. This information will then be shared with the on-site partners. A placement test will also be given at the start of the program to ensure you're learning at the correct level. Most important is your general ability to communicate verbally with those around you and to be proactive in speaking Spanish, versus accuracy with grammatical tenses. All CFHI Latin America programs include Spanish language instruction on-site.
Not sure about your Spanish level? View a full list of CFHI’s language levels for all Latin America programs on our Spanish Level Guidelines page.
CFHI partners with Canopy to offer high-quality online Medical Spanish courses. Apply using this link for a 20% discount and start improving your medical Spanish today!
- Robust, competency-informed readings and content
- Access to and training rooted in intercultural tools through CFHI partner Aperian Global
- 30 hours of Spanish instruction
- Synchronous and asynchronous virtual sessions led by CFHI Global Partners, all experts in local health systems and culture
- Facilitated group reflection sessions
- Project-based work to deepen understanding of local health realities and support operations and objectives of the host organization/partners
- Cultural learning/virtual immersion
- Final presentation and report to synthesize learning
The Sustainable Development Goals are a global roadmap set forth by the United Nations General Assembly to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure the well-being of all individuals by the year 2030. This program highlights the following SDG's:
