Travelling by bike, students are going to experience health and healthcare in Amsterdam in different settings and learn about (the physician’s role in) primary and community care in an urban environment facing global health challenges, e.g. migration, demographic changes, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and inequities.
Health care is not merely to provide high tech solutions in hospitals to acute medical problems, but also to practice health advocacy, arrange care for people with chronic diseases as close to people’s homes as possible, and empower people to organize their lives. Future doctors will have to deal with challenges in primary and community care, e.g. quality and continuity of care, access and outreach for underserved communities, manage uncertainty and advocacy, and the shift from hospital to primary care. Furthermore, doctors should be aware of differences and inequalities and their connections to biological and social processes in men and women across e.g. (socio)cultural backgrounds, class, sexual orientation (intersectionality), and provide equitable and inclusive health care.
Supported by a mentor, students design and conduct their own project in collaboration with general practice, community care institutions and nonprofit-organizations such as Dokters van de Wereld.
The international minors of the Faculty of Medicine start on September 2nd.