UNC School of Medicine
International Health and/or Medical Spanish Immersion Elective
Student Feedback Form
Information that you provide will be entered into a database that future students can use in planning educational
electives in international health and/or medical Spanish
I.
STUDENT INFORMATION
A. Student Name: ___Matthew Oettinger_____________________________
B: Email: matthew_oettinger@med.unc.edu___
C. Phone/cell number: ___8478042541_________
D. Graduating year from UNC Medical School: __2010_____
E. Check when you took this elective:
___Summer between 1st and 2nd year ____4th year
____Other: _3rd year_________________
F. What UNC Department did you register for this elective through? __Family Medicine_____________
G. Faculty advisor: ____Dr. Martha Carlough______________________
H. Dates that you did the program: ___Nov 6-21_________________ Year: _2008______
I. From the list below, select the one choice that best describes your motivation for taking this elective:
__x__ interest in international health
_____desire to get experience for CV/job opportunities
____ interest in travel
_____family of origin reasons
____ interest in helping others
_____ other: ________________________________
____ desire to learn/improve Spanish skills
II. ELECTIVE PROGRAM INFORMATION
A. Country where you did the elective: _______India________________
B. City: ____Mussoorie_______________________________
C. Name of Program or Hospital where you worked: __Landour Community Hospital__________________
D. Website address (if available): ______ www.eha-health.org _____________________________
E. From the list below, select the choice that best describes how you first learned about this program:
____ referral from a friend/personal contact
____ web site information from: ________________
____ student who went there
__x__ other: _spent time before in Mussoorie_____
F. Name of program person you worked with and contact information: __Dr. Mathew Samuel___
0135-2632053, 2632614, 2632541; or email through form on website
G. Costs
Tuition: __None_____
Roundtrip travel: _$1500_____
Other expenses you incurred (please list type and amount):
___Room: $17/day_____________________________
___Food: $10/day_______________________________
___Other Travel (trains, taxis, etc.): $100____________
___Tourism/Other: $100__________________________
H. Did this program/hospital have a religious affiliation? _x___YES
____NO
If yes, with what group: __Emmanuel Hospital Association (evangelical Christian, no other affiliation)_
I. Did this program/hospital have an academic affiliation? ____YES
_x___NO
If yes, with what institution: _However, a nearby EHA hospital did have its own residency program
(Herbertpur Christian Hospital)_________
III. ELECTIVE CHARACTERISTICS
A. List three educational outcomes you achieved with this elective
1. __Gained a better understanding of healthcare delivery in rural Indian hospital_________________
2. _Gained a better understanding of attitudes and culture surrounding health in India_______________
3. _Increased medical knowledge through teaching of doctors and gained some hands-on experience, particularly
in surgery__
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B. Was the elective a good use of time for you during medical school? _x___YES
C. Did you have adequate clinical supervision? _x___YES
____NO
____NO
D. Did you have adequate opportunities for hands-on clinical work? __x__YES
E. Would you recommend this elective to other medical students? __x__YES
____NO
____NO
If YES, Why? _I would recommend working with EHA, and thoroughly enjoyed being at LCH. It is not very
busy though, and they are not exceptionally used to having students, so I would recommend possibly going to a
place like Herbertpur instead (only 2 hours away), which has residents, is much larger, and will include a much
more hands-on experience. The inpatient service is >150 beds instead of just 50 at LCH, the operating theatre has
>10 rooms, instead of 2, and residents provide a much better teaching environment. I was able to visit this
hospital once while there, and they had other students working there who appeared to be having a good
experience. Note that to apply through EHA, the student must detail a statement of their personal faith in Jesus
Christ, as well as other questions on their spiritual life.
If NO, Why? ________________________________________________________________________
F. Was the program responsive to your needs? x____YES
____NO
G. Did you have appropriate arrangements for housing, food and safety/health issues? _x___YES
____NO
If NO, please describe: ________________________________________________________________
H. Did you have adequate information about what to expect in advance? ____YES
_x___NO
If NO, what would have been helpful: _A thorough orientation packet from the hospital would be extremely
useful. This was not a huge issue in the end, because I had previously been to India and could make most of my
arrangements on my own, but the task could be daunting for someone who had not been there. Though the
experience was good as a whole, I did not feel like LCH particularly was a good place for medical students. The
winter is also a bad time for students, as the number of patients drastically decreases. The experience would be
best for someone who was a 4th year student (the doctors will allow more hands-on), someone who perhaps speaks
Hindi or some other Indian language and communicate some with patients who do not speak English, and one
who comes during summer months (or late spring, early fall). This information was not adequately
communicated prior to the elective, leaving me very uncertain about the experience that I would have.
Alternatively, Herbertpur’s student program may be much more developed with housing arrangements, teaching,
place on the medical team better defined, as well as staying busy in all seasons.
IV. FOR MEDICAL SPANISH IMMERSION ELECTIVES ONLY
A. Select the description of your level of Spanish fluency before taking the program:
____ No knowledge of Spanish
____ Beginner: Some high school and college courses; but minimal fluency
____ Adv. beginner: Conversation of common phrases, needs dictionary often; writing ability is limited
____ Intermediate: Emerging fluency and writing ability; needs dictionary sometimes
____ Advanced: Mostly fluent, can serve as an interpreter at a clinic; writing capacity is developing
B. Was your fluency level assessed appropriately for placement purposes? ____YES
____NO
C. Estimate the hours per day spent studying medical Spanish: ______
D. Do you feel that your medical Spanish fluency improved during the elective? ____YES
____NO
E. Did you have opportunities to experience the local culture and medical care environment?___YES __NO
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Please describe:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
F. Comment on positive features of this program/elective:
G. Comment on features that could be improved:
H. Did you take this experience for elective credit? ____YES
If ‘yes’ please describe how you were evaluated:
____NO
I. Did you feel that you had adequate support from UNC in setting up this elective? ____YES
____NO
THANK YOU!!! THIS INFORMATION WILL HELP FUTURE STUDENTS !!!
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