Clinical shadowing program for junior medical students + medical Spanish component
Although junior medical students can participate in the P010A program at any time of the year, this program is emphasized in the months of June and July for students in the first, second year of medicine. In addition, IHCAI offers a special program for groups of junior medical students that includes a clinical shadow component and other benefits:
- Medical Spanish Course
- Clinical shadowing rotation
- Introduction to tropical medicine
- Introduction to evidence-based medicine
This experience lasts 6 weeks and is available only in the period from July to November, each year. Groups of students of a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 8 are welcome. We do not accept students alone. The dates can be chosen by the students in the mentioned period.
The goal of this program is to offer junior medical students an opportunity to learn about health and healing with a more global perspective by living and working in another country. Students will have the opportunity to learn medical Spanish and directly observing clinical performance, living in a different culture, usually with little of the technical and medical facilities he or she is accustomed to using. The student will have a chance to see a different way of organizing health care to achieve good results in the health situation of the population, as is the case of Costa Rican health system.
This immersive and cultural experience has two very attractive pluses: an introduction to tropical medicine with emphasis on 6 major diseases such as dengue and malaria; and an introduction to evidence-based medicine with an emphasis on critical reading of scientific information.
This program integrates the following components:
- Medical Spanish Course
- Clinical shadowing rotation
- Introduction to tropical medicine
- Introduction to evidence-based medicine
This organization has developed for over twenty years these components through its programs P010A & P01. They are usually targeted to senior medical students and residents. We also combine this experience with our long history in the training of medical professionals and the production of systematic reviews by us as Regional Cochrane Center.
By working with students who begin their medical training, this program provides a brief and dynamic approach to semiology to focus on diagnosis. This is intended to facilitate the clinical interview and strengthen the doctor-patient relationship. This experience offers 60 hours of clinical observation and 70 hours of training in clinical settings and evidence-based medicine methods with qualified medical instructors. To this are added the 92 hours that the student will invest in learning Spanish to be applied to medical history and the clinical interview with Spanish-speaking patients.
Program prospectus available at: P07 Prospectus
Online application available at: Apply to this program