Assistant Professor Deb Lardner, D.O., of NYIT’s Center for Global Health

The center’s global efforts are coordinated with organizations such as the Jesse Rohde Foundation, Doctors United for Haiti, Pediatricians for Central America’s Children, and Save the Children, among others, depending on which part of the world the center visits. 

As for the patients they meet, Passafaro says they are grateful for the support NYIT students and faculty provide. “They are trusting us with more than their lives,” he says. “They are trusting us with the lives of their children.”

Of great help is using osteopathic manipulative medicine when seeing patients, adds Lardner. “It’s a non-pharmacological way of treating people,” she says. “That’s a huge advantage in a country with poor resources and high levels of poverty.”

For physician assistant studies student Dane Masuda, the center’s visit to El Salvador this July will be the perfect introduction to a future career in global medicine. “There isn’t a general knowledge of how to react as health care providers,” he says of other schools. Masuda enrolled in NYIT’s certificate in global health course at NYIT-Old Westbury, an experience he called invaluable in understanding the economics and infrastructure of a country, specific illnesses and diseases of the region, and public health policy, along with a specific focus on cultural competency.

“What they learn is relevant to health professionals in the United States,” says Zehra Ahmed (B.S. ’04), assistant professor in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies, who teaches the global certificate program along with Lardner and Passafaro. “Culture takes so many forms. It is not just defined by geography or race but also includes age, sexual orientation, and other broad factors.”

The ability to grasp the patient’s point of view—culturally, economically, and emotionally—is valuable not only for patients in other countries but also when dealing with the diverse patient base found in the United States. One of the first things a student must understand, however, is self-awareness. 

“They must know their values, their beliefs, their prejudices, and their judgments,” adds Ahmed. “That always has to be the starting point.”

One of Masuda’s classmates who joined him in El Salvador was Bret Sparling, who also enrolled in the global certificate course. Upon arrival, he already had an understanding of local health care issues as he shadowed doctors in clinics, visited small towns and farms, and witnessed how local physicians interact with patients.

“I have a much better of idea of where people are coming from,” says Sparling. To see firsthand this Central American health care system up close and understand what local patients are accustomed to will help him treat future patients from this region. He describes the experience as repositioning his “cultural compass.”

Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Next

More Features

Vol. 10 No. 2 Table of Contents