Dr. Mark SutherlandCONWAY, Ark. (June 2, 2011) – Hendrix biology professor Dr. Mark Sutherland recently spoke to more than 50 faculty members, students, and health and education professionals in an online program titled " Global Health Exposure for Students: Setting Expectations and Boundaries.” The program was hosted by Child Family Health International.
Sutherland, who joined the Hendrix faculty in 1990, was invited to speak because of a set of guidelines he wrote for students getting exposure to medicine while abroad. The guidelines have been adapted and adopted by the American Dental Education Association and American Association of Medical Colleges.
The program’s three primary topics focused on student participation in global health learning, organizations that place students in these settings, and the host entities (e.g. hospitals, clinics, families) where the students go.
“The webinar demonstrated the complexity of these relationships and identified topics for future discussion on clarifying appropriate pre-trip preparation and on-site activities for students, ensuring that the facilitating organizations are maintaining high ethical standards, and that the host medical communities are appropriately supported for the help they provide in furthering the student's education,” Sutherland said.
The program is likely to be the first in a series of meetings meant to bring coherence to the roles and responsibilities of students, universities, NGO's, commercial companies and host institutions involved in global health education, he said.