Fieldwork
The Global Health minor Fieldwork Experience requirement is the practical experience component of the minor. The requirement is designed to supplement classroom learning by providing students with an opportunity to develop their skills in a real-world global or local public health environment.
Fieldwork Experience Links
The Global Health program also encourages students in the minor to seek practical experiences that are “beyond” the Global Health minor program. To this end, we’ve put together a “Beyond the Minor” page which includes a list of resources across the UO Campus, external organizations offering career opportunities, advanced degree programs in Global Health, and more.
Beyond the Minor Links
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the requirement flexible?
It is flexible in that it can be fulfilled in a variety of ways, some of which are “Existing Opportunities” pre-identified by the program, and “Other Opportunities” which students have the opportunity to design themselves (the most common route). This requirement can be fulfilled via a faculty-sponsored research project, through a study abroad program, or as an internship with a community-based organization. While the site of your experience may vary, it must be Global Health-related.
What does it mean to be “Global Health-related?
To be “Global Health-related” means that the experience must engage with matters of global or local public health from a population-based, disease-prevention, cross-cultural, and/or health-promotion approach.
When and how do I get an experience approved to count towards my Global Health Field Work Experience requirement?
In advance of completing the experience, you must complete the appropriate pre-authorization form in order to have your experience pre-approved. Once completed, you must confirm completion of the required credits so they can be reflected on your Degree Guide. Depending on which experience you’re pursuing, visit the “Existing Opportunities” or “Other Opportunities” page for more details on required pre-authorization forms.
Can I have a Field Work Experience pre-approved before applying to the Global Health minor?
Yes, you can – just follow the pre-authroization process outlined, indicating the term you are planning to apply to the minor in your paperwork.
I’ve completed my pre-approved experience but I’m not seeing the requirement reflected as “complete” on my Degree Guide – what should I do?
Visit the “Confirm Completed Experience” section of our website and complete the online form linked there to confirm completion of your Field Work Experience requirement.
Do I have to enroll in units/credits to fulfill this requirement?
Yes, you must enroll in four (4.00) units/credits, which can be registered in any department – often the department of the faculty member supervising the experience.
Do I have to take the 4.00 units/credits for a letter grade?
No, the Field Work Experience requirement is the only course/credit requirement for the Global Health minor that does not requiring a passing letter grade in order to be applied towards the minor.
I am going to shadow a doctor. Does this fulfill my Global Health Field Work Experience requirement?
No. Starting in September 2018, the Global Health program does not accept clinical shadowing (whether in the US or abroad) to fulfill this requirement.
What do you mean by “clinical shadowing”?
The Global Health program considers “clinical shadowing” to be following around a doctor or nurse-practitioner whose primary job is to provide clinical care (care for patients) in a clinical setting, whether in a public hospital, teaching hospital, private clinic, community health center, or in private homes. Sometimes this is referred to as “clinical rotations,” but in the global health context, it is often described as “medical tourism,” where students from richer countries travel to the poorer countries to gain clinical experience.
Why won’t you accept clinical shadowing?
The Global Health program has deep concerns about the ethics and appropriateness of undergraduate students shadowing clinical care providers both domestically and internationally. These concerns revolve around protecting both students (so that they not be asked to do something illegal, inappropriate, unethical) and protecting patients (who may not consent to being observed and/or may not be able to voice their discomfort about being so observed). In both domestic and international settings, issues of power, inequality, and cross-cultural communication challenge both patients’ ability to truly provide consent to being observed and students’ ability to merely observe clinical interactions, without interfering in or participating in clinical care, which they are untrained and unqualified to do. We hope that students of Global Health at UO become exposed and sensitized to these ethical and social justice concerns through the Global Health program.
I plan to do clinical shadowing anyway, because most pre-med students do it and I want to have this experience.
Okay – we can’t stop you, but this experience will not be counted as a Global Health minor Field Work Experience requirement.
I volunteer with a health/mental health/peer health program on campus/ in the community. Can this experience count for the Global Health minor Field Work Experience requirement?
Yes, most definitely! In the past, students who work as Peer Wellness Advocates or in Sexual Violence and Assault Prevention work on campus, or who volunteer with social and health service providers in Eugene/Springfield/elsewhere in Oregon, or their local communities, have been able to use these experiences for Global Health minor program credit. Discuss your volunteer work with the Global Health program Director and/or a faculty affiliated with the Global Health program to see how you can craft an experience or write a final report that would make this experience appropriate for the Global Health minor Field Work Experience requirement.
My study abroad program includes the opportunity to follow a clinical provider in community health education settings. Is this acceptable?
Yes! Engaging in health education or disease prevention in community health settings, for instance, through health education talks or disease eradication campaigns, is important global health experience. You may be working alongside doctors, nurses and other clinicians in this health education and outreach work, but it does not involve the provision of medical care, so it we view this as appropriate experience for an undergraduate student of global health.
I see many clinical shadowing experiences available through UO GEO. So can they count for the Global Health minor Field Work Experience requirement?
Global Health program staff are working with GEO to develop study abroad experiences that are ethically appropriate and appropriate for Global Health undergraduates. We encourage students to consider the Ghana global health study abroad program, for it offers non-clinical global health experiences for students. Other SIT and CFHI programs may be appropriate, but if you have questions, please consult the Global Health program Director.
I have the opportunity to get involved in a clinical research study supervised by a UO faculty member. Can this count for my Global Health minor Field Work Experience requirement?
Yes, if the UO faculty member is conducting IRB-approved and institutionally-sponsored research, and is willing to supervise your work for Global Health minor Field Work Experience credit, this is acceptable for the GH program.
What kinds of problems might arise for a student from clinical shadowing, especially internationally?
Students may be asked to perform medical procedures they are not medically qualified to do, such as drawing blood, helping with a pap smear, initiating an IV line, giving injections, or assisting with births in a labor and delivery ward. These requests may be made because UO undergraduates are shadowing alongside medical students of similar ages in host countries, so hospital staff or patients inappropriately assume undergraduates are medical students. Being involved in medical procedures such as these also significantly increase the student’s risk of coming in contact with a blood borne disease.