There are many ways to explore global health; you can surf the Internet, attend global health conferences, join a team on short-term international mission trips, or spend extended time studying in a foreign medical facility. This site is designed to help direct you to available resources for all these experiences. It is a work in progress, so by all means please send any information about trips, conferences, or other relevant information to Dr. Cato Varlack
MedPACt donates to Pathlight HOME with funds raised during the 10th Annual Global Health Conference
MedPACt (Medical Students Providing Across Continents) is an organization dedicated to providing education and mentoring for students to become actively engaged within communities of need both locally and abroad, and to promote awareness and participation in improving the health-related needs of people throughout the world.
The goals of MedPACt are to:
- Increase awareness of the needs of medically underserved local and global human populations.
- Serve communities and populations by addressing health-related needs and promoting personal well-being through health education in a sustainable, cooperative way.
- Provide mentoring and education to the student community relating to global and local medical needs.
- Develop, improve and promote sustainable relationships, goals, and ideas that seek to actively serve health-related needs.
- Provide an open, collegial, and supportive environment in which students can become culturally enriched.
If you have any questions related to MedPACt, please reach out to:
Samantha Hsu, Executive Director (sa769106@ucf.edu)
Ways to get involved:
Join us virtually to improve your Spanish with speaker seminars, practice with your fellow classmates, clinical skill encounters and even a mentor/mentee program with UCF Undergrads. All levels are welcome!
Please reach out to Education Directors Noah Defauwes at ndefauwes@ucf.edu and Maria Torrez at ma971361@ucf.edu for dates and locations for the next Spanish Lunch Hour (SLH).
MedPACt’s Global Health Conference is an annual medical student-run conference geared towards health professionals like medical students, nursing students, pharmacy students, and anyone interested in the topic of global health. Topics of previous years have included tropical diseases, maternal and child health, refugee health, and disaster relief. For more information please contact Conference Directors Archi Patel at ar538169@ucf.edu and Adishi Ranjan at ad632190@ucf.edu.
Since July 2016 MedPACt and the Farmworker Association of Florida have collaborated to provide health clinics to a vulnerable farmworker population. Our pop-up clinics provide services from a range of specialties including internal medicine, pediatric, ophthalmology, nephrology, obstetrics/gynecology, dermatology, and physical therapy. Our volunteers include faculty and students from various disciplines, including nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational health, social work, nutrition, and chaplaincy. For more information on the next Farmworker Association clinic date in Apopka, please reach out to Service Directors Joel Hernandez at joelhernandez@ucf.edu and Josh Lua at jo371687@ucf.edu.
The Yantalo Clinic facilitates medical services, research, and education for the rural community of Yantalo, Peru. Since its completion in 2014, it has hosted interdisciplinary teams from numerous sites in the US. Our interdisciplinary team was the first to introduce broad primary care, physical therapy, and adult surgery services and it has expanded into a team of students and professionals from the disciplines of Obstetrics and Gynecology, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Urology, Physical Therapy, Social Work, Nursing, and Pharmacy.
Learn more about the Yantalo Peru Foundation here.
Development and Research
Help promote sustainable and ethical global health initiatives through implementation of additional MedPACt projects such as:
Electronic Health Record: contact Mallory Volz, EMR Director, at ma822522@ucf.edu
AMSA/IFMSA Research Exchange: contact Research Directors Benjamin Oakes at benjaminoakes@ucf.edu and Daniela Vulpe at da253852@ucf.edu.
Public Relations: contact Meghana Ganjam, Public Relations & Outreach Director, at me597888@ucf.edu.
