(1888PressRelease)
May 04, 2007 - In partnership with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, this project will use a novel but cost-effective strategy to educate health care professionals in competencies required for international healthcare.
The Glenda Garvey Teaching Academy awarded a $20,000 educational grant to fund the two-year project. The academy honors innovative educational projects within the Columbia University Medical Center to enhance the teaching environment and mission of the university’s faculty.
The pilot project will engage students at Columbia University’s Physicians & Surgeons Medical School and Mailman School of Public Health, and the Medical School for International Health (MSIH), which is a collaboration between Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). Ben-Gurion University is located in Beer Sheva, Israel and CUMC is located in the Washington Heights community of New York City.
“The project will demonstrate that multiple schools and experts in geographically diverse locations can use technology to effectively collaborate in the education of health and medical professionals. A well-designed, web-based education could efficiently capitalize on the combined strengths of each institution but electronically exporting their collective expertise,” said Lynne Quittell, director of Columbia University's Cystic Fibrosis Center and clinical professor of pediatrics and medicine. Dr. Quittell, who also co-chairs the Admissions Committee for MSIH, will serve as the project leader for the pilot project.
The Medical School for International Health is a collaborative initiative between Ben-Gurion University and Columbia University to advance global health medical education. It is the only four-year American style medical school in the world that incorporates international health in all four years of medical study and culminates with a required international health clerkship. MSIH currently integrates international health modules and training, through such courses as Nutrition in the Developing World, Infectious and Tropical Diseases, and Global Health and Environment. Faculty from Ben-Gurion, MSIH, and Columbia University will now be able to teach and interact with students, without traveling the distance between the countries.
Within this pilot project, each seminar will include between 15 and 20 students, and will consist of seminars conducted through Internet-based technology. Courses will allow real-time interaction with faculty and offer students direct access to professors outside of their geographical boundaries. In addition, this technology will permit the usage of slide presentations and application and file sharing. Courses will be archived, provided on-demand, and recorded on DVD for additional learning opportunities.
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