The goal of the Global Emergency Medicine fellowship is to train emergency medicine residency graduates in the challenging and broad field of global health. We will ensure that our fellows get an extensive and individualized exposure to diverse areas of global health including international emergency medicine development and education, global health policy, tropical medicine, humanitarian aid and research.

Our fellows spend between three to five months abroad each year working on various projects and training. The main focus of the fieldwork involves active participation in our ongoing EM residency development project in Guyana. The exact focus of the fellow’s project will be tailored to the fellow’s interests.

The fellowship can be a one or two year fellowship, depending on the individual fellow applicant. Formal education is discussed with each fellow applicant and the educational plan is made in conjunction with the interests and future goals of the fellow. An MPH program or equivalent is expected. The external program at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) or other online programs are a good option given the travel requirements of the fellowship. Fellows will take a tropical medicine diploma course. Options include the Gorgas Course in Peru, the University of Minnesota/CDC program or the East Africa Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Fellows are required to conduct at least one research or scholarly project during the fellowship. We have excellent support from the division of EM research. Collaboration with researchers at the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health is also an option. Fellows are expected to write a manuscript of publishable quality.

International health fellows receive a Vanderbilt faculty appointment and work in the Vanderbilt ED as an attending physician supervising/teaching medical students and residents. Fellows are assigned eight eight-hour shifts per month, although we have flexibility in assigning shifts to fit around international duties.