U of U Global Health Alliance (UUGHA)

Ghana SOM Program Description

Since 2001, students and faculty advisors have studied at the School of Medical Sciences in Kumasi, Ghana.  This is a pre-clinical community health rotation available to freshman/sophomore students in summer break before their sophomore/junior year.

Each summer the program becomes more interactive with the faculty and students in Ghana and includes the following: 

  1. Eight hours of classroom education prior to travel and/or Public Health Course.
  2. Students assigned in pairs to work in community health centers.
  3. Student activities in the clinics included:
    • observation of medical care
    • helping with registration of patients
    • performing blood pressures
    • learning of new diseases
    • teaching preventive medicine
    • observing laboratory testing
    • performing some procedures under the direction of the clinical staff such as weight babies
    • participate in a public health project and write an abstract from the project
  4. Students participate in a post‑travel debriefing where they discuss what could be done on future student rotations that would help evaluate and improve the medical experience in Ghana.

First and Second-year Medical students wishing to apply for the Ghana Medical Exchange Program can do so via the International Center’s website.

Program Director

DeVon C. Hale, M.D.:  Dr. Hale is the Medical Director of the International Travel Clinic at University Hospital and for pre-travel consultations at Salt Lake Valley, Davis, Wasatch, and Southwest Utah County Health Departments and the LDS Church’s Travel Clinic.  Additionally, he is the Utah-site Principle Investigator for GeoSentinel, a worldwide disease surveillance project based out of the Centers for Disease Control.