2009-10 Rotation Sites
- Haiti
- Uganda
- Tanzania
- Swaziland
- Lesotho
Global Health
Overview & Vision
Recognizing the increasingly global community in which we live, the University of Wisconsin Pediatric Residency Program is committed to providing residents with a broadened worldview of pediatric care and advocacy. We are fortunate that our medical school has expanded its emphasis on public health, and is emphasizing the need for health professionals to gain a deeper awareness of culture, language, and society. Madison provides an ideal setting for global health work, given the community’s and the University’s long-standing commitment to advocacy, activism, and international partnerships.
The Department of Pediatrics believes that global health experiences are an ideal way to increase this awareness and advance the goals of the School of Medicine and Public Health. The 2010-2011 academic year will mark the inauguration of a Global Health Track for Pediatric Residents at the University of Wisconsin. This resident-driven initiative will provide trainees the opportunity to incorporate global health education throughout the duration of their residency. A core group of invested residents is working under the mentorship of Dr. Sabrina Wagner, the Global Health Education Director for the Department of Pediatrics, to create a curriculum that emphasizes cultural humility, responsible and ethical practices, and collaboration with international colleagues. Dr. Wagner is one of our pediatric hospitalists who has significant experience in partnership development and has worked throughout Latin America and East Africa. The track will serve to enrich the training experience of residents interested in global health and has the ability to meet the needs of a variety of residents; from those who desire gain a new perspective on the health of children worldwide to those who plan to have a career centered around global health work.
Our residency offers you a unique opportunity to be connected to a large, internationally active, undergraduate and graduate campus, as well as the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Global Health (CGH). The Center is a collaborative effort of the University of Wisconsin’s Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, and the Division of International Studies. Dr. James Conway, one of our pediatric infectious disease specialists, holds a leadership role within the Center for Global Health as a member of the Steering Committee and Chair of the Education Task Force. Dr. Conway is known both nationally and internationally for his commitment to his work related to vaccine-preventable infectious diseases and community-based public health initiatives. He works closely with the pediatric residents and is integral to the emerging Global Health Track. A number of other pediatric faculty and affiliated staff also participate in a variety of collaborative international projects.
Resident Leader Profiles
Katie Baker – Katie is a second-year resident. Her interest in global health started while she was an international courier for the National Marrow Donor Program and saw the collaboration across borders in the interest of patients’ health. This interest was further stimulated by experiences in both India and Uganda during medical school. Katie will be traveling to Tanzania this spring for a month long inpatient pediatric rotation. She plans to continue to incorporate global health into her future as a general pediatrician.
Laura Houser – Laura is a third-year resident who has been interested in global health since traveling to Nicaragua as a clinic volunteer during medical school. She is interested in preventative medicine, public health, and international adoption. In 2009, she traveled to rural Haiti to work in an outpatient clinic outside Port-au-Prince. After residency, she plans to work in general outpatient pediatrics and would like to incorporate global health into her practice.
Kirstin Nackers – Kirstin is a first-year resident. Her interest in global health includes the healthcare needs of new immigrants to the United States. She looks forward to going on her first international experience during residency.
Dan Olson – Dan is a third-year resident whose first global health experiences were in medical school when he participated in trips to Peru, Madagascar, and Swaziland. He felt that nothing he had done up until then had been so rewarding. He enjoyed experiencing a new culture and learning about the tropical diseases he encountered during these experiences. In March, he will return to sub-Saharan Africa on an elective in Lesotho. He plans on pursuing a career in pediatric infectious diseases, but before starting fellowship he will be spending his first year out of residency working internationally.
Erin Turner – Erin is a first-year resident. She is looking forward to her first international experience during residency. She hopes this will help her define how she will incorporate global health throughout her career.
Lisa Umphrey – Lisa is a third-year resident. She became interested in a career in global health after traveling to Uganda in November 2008 for a one-month international rotation with the Foundation for the International Medical Relief of Children (FIMRC). She previously had spent time in Central and South America doing medical work and learning Spanish, but she fell in love with a small, rural clinic in Uganda and has since been back there three times. She plans to become the on-site pediatrician for FIMRC in Uganda after graduating this coming July. She hopes to enhance the infrastructure, quality of care, and staffing of this clinic, as well as create an international site for future residents and medical students to visit.
Jeff Yaeger – Jeff is a third-year resident. His interest in global health stems from the belief that basic health services should be available to all people, regardless of their geographical location, or any other factor. He would like to be part of the effort that finds a way to make this idea a reality. His global health interests include musculoskeletal disease and nutrition. Jeff will be traveling to Tanzania for an elective rotation this spring. Following completion of his third year, Jeff will be staying on at the UW as one of our Chief Residents. He plans to pursue a musculoskeletal fellowship training after his chief year. He would like to continue to be involved in finding opportunities for interested students and residents to explore their interest in global health while incorporating global health into his future career.