Doctors of the future gain an insight into development

Issued : Monday 24 May, 2010

In April 2010, 130 third-year medical students from Trinity College Dublin completed a special module on Global Health and Development. The intensive one-week course, which was in its second year, covered a range of topics including health worker migration, climate change and combating malaria in Tanzania.

At the end of the course the students agreed to continue researching relevant course topics in small groups. On the evaluation day in April the medical students presented their posters in 20 small groups on a range of global health topics. Four posters were selected from the 20 and those students, in turn, presented their topic to the whole group. Students and examiners both voted separately to select a winner. The winning poster, "The increasing inequality of HIV/AIDS impact already affecting disadvantaged populations in both the developed and developing world" won both the student selected prize and the external examiner's prize with a clear lead.

Catrina Teronan (photo), from the winning group, described the course as, "A brilliant interactive course, which gave a great insight into Global Development."

This course has demonstrated to have had a positive impact on student attitudes to global issues and is significant in terms of student learning in Ireland. Other students commented "It was an informative course, I gained an understanding of how culture and context for example needs to be considered with foreign aid" and "I found it really insightful, for example how using education in development is crucial."

Fran Flood (Director of Skillshare Ireland) commented, " "It's been important building this partnership with Trinity College Dublin and we look forward to developing it further. This course is one of a number of courses that are run as part of our development awareness programme, which have been successful in enabling doctors of the future to develop skills and a deeper understanding of global health and development."

The Global Determinants of Health and Development Course (GDH&D) at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) is the result of an innovative collaboration between the School of Medicine at TCD and Skillshare International Ireland. For more information on the Global Determinants course in Dublin please contact Raul Pardinaz Solis (Development Awareness Officer) at raul.pardinaz-solis@skillshare.org

^ back to top