China California Heart Watch Externship Activity
*Check out where our alumni have gone: Click Here
**for a downloadable brochure: 2018 China Cal Extern Brochure
Financial Aid is available upon request, please fill out this application and return to Daniel@chinacal.org
Read about our extern experiences in 2017
Dates:
July 6th, 2018 to July 27th, 2018 – Faculty instructors: Robert Detrano M.D. Ph.D. Julio Lutterbach M.D.
August 1st, 2018 to August 21st, 2018 -Faculty instructors: Robert Detrano M.D. Ph. D. and Judith Becker M.D.
December 15, 2018 to December 28, 2018 – Faculty instructors: TBA
Objective: In 2018, China California Heart Watch will host our 13th year of China Cal Externship fundraising activities in the months of July, August and Decmeber 2018. The objective of our externship activity is to raise funds to support our charitable mission and to create awareness of the problems of healthcare in rural China, and to encourage students toward a career in public health, nursing, or medicine focused on under-served populations. Our Activity strictly adheres to the guidelines for Pre-medical students invovled in clinical experiences abroad set forth by the AAMC-ADA.
Location and Program: All extern activities will occur in rural areas of Yunnan Province, China. Yunnan has a population of about 44 million people and is one of the poorest and most medically underserved regions of China.
Externship Description: Upon arrival in Dali, Yunnan Province, China, externs will undergo three to four days of training under the direction of Professor Robert Detrano, M.D., Ph.D. from UC Irvine School of Medicine. The goal is to understand the basics of congenital heart disease in China, the purpose and practice of the newborn training program, how to assist in the physical and ultrasound heart examination of children through scribing, and to become well acquainted with rural life in Yunnan Province. At the completion of the training, externs will then travel to rural county centers where they will participate in our clinic providing screening and examination of young children with heart disease. Externs will be taught by faculty members and staff from UCI, Hong Kong University, and Kunming Medical University.
Students are required to cover the cost of their round-trip air ticket and visa. All non Chinese citizens will be required to obtain a valid Chinese visa. This must be organized and paid though local agencies or the Chinese consulate/embassy in your home country. Visa costs vary from year to year between $50 and $150 USD.
Health and Safety: Yunnan Province, China is safe for foreign visitors. Students will be advised regarding caution and care for their belongings and documents. Health risks are relatively few. However, as visitors sometimes suffer from gastro-‐enteritis, China Cal doctors will provide prophylactic education, and medications will be on-‐hand if needed.
Curriculum: Our externships are serious learning experiences for those interested in a career in health sciences (medicine, nursing, public health, etc.). University medical school professors will teach medical/public health courses where students will receive professional development and training from university faculty, doctors and nurses. Dependent on hospital case load and approval by the hospital director, externs may also have the opportunity to observe certain interventional cardiac procedures performed at Fuwai Cardiovascular Hospital in the beginning of end of the externship. According to performance during lectures and practical training, externs will be awarded letters of recommendation documenting your participation which may be used for graduate school or employment.
Faculty: Faculty will consist of U.S. medical school, senior faculty and nursing faculty along with local Chinese medical school faculty members. There will, in general, be a student-faculty ratio of ten to one or lower. Professor Robert Detrano, M.D., Ph.D. of the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine and faculty members of the Kunming Medical University will lead the team.
Externship Costs: A donation of $3000 USD is requested. This donation will be tax exempt. Part of the donation will be used to support expenses for the externship program (e.g., accommodations, food, local transportation). All donors are recognized on our website donor page.
Airfare & Visas: The externs will be responsible for their own roundtrip airfare to and from Dali, Yunnan Province, China. This normally cost about $500-$1350 USD total. In addition, externs from the United States are required to purchase a Chinese visa. This normally cost about $50-$100 USD (single/multiple entries).
Language Requirements: Knowledge of Mandarin is strongly recommended. More than half of the time during the externship will be spent with non-English speakers. All students must participate in the training part of the activity which requires near fluency in Mandarin.
Cancellation: Since 2006, China California Heart Watch has never canceled an externship/internship program. However, if this should become necessary due to natural disaster or changes in government regulations and/or for administrative reasons, China Cal will refund the entire donation fee amount to the extern minus any bank/administrative fees. If the externship is not canceled but the extern decides withdraw, China Cal will give students credit to attend a future externship in Summer or Winter 2019. However, no refund will be issued.
Closure of Externship: Admission into the externship will close when sufficient externs have been recruited, or 20 days before the start date of the externship whichever occurs first.
Application, Interview and Waiver of Liability: Students will have to complete an application, waiver of liability, review the AAMC-ADA guidelines for Premedical and Medical Students Providing Patient Care During Clinical Experiences Abroad and undergo a phone interview to be accepted into the externship. Please contact Daniel Zhang at daniel@chinacal.org for an application.
