About the Office of Global Health

COVID-19 UPDATE:

The ongoing COVID Pandemic has Highlighted our global interconnectedness. While we continue to see the impact on all aspects of life, we encourage everyone to continue to take the proper precautions and remain safe. The following are areas directly affecting us:


Karen WeiRu Lin MD, MS, FAAFP

Associate Dean for Global Health 
Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health 

We are in a global age. While the world economy was the first to follow this path, it has quickly spread to other areas such as health, and many leading US academic institutions, have by now, embraced global issues.

According to AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) data, there has been a significant increase in the number of medical students that participate in overseas clinical activities (from 6% a decade ago to almost 40% since 2000) and these numbers keep growing. Here at RWJMS, previous surveys show that over one-third of RWJMS medical students indicated an interest in participating in a rotation abroad during their medical school years.

The major goals of the global health programs are:

  • To enhance medical students’ awareness of global issues related to health
  • To encourage medical students to immerse themselves in the culture and health system of other countries
  • To send groups of medical students to different institutions all over the world with whom we have ongoing educational collaborations
  • To provide information about clinical and community programs in diverse ethnic communities in New Jersey that would benefit & enhance the clinical experiences of students
  • To stimulate and support international activities of the faculty including educational, clinical, and research activities

Medical Students' International Rotations

The major goals of this experience are to sharpen students’ interviewing and physical examination skills, their understanding of cost-constrained care, and the importance of public health; to influence future US physicians to serve domestic under-served populations and to enhance the ability of future physicians to advocate for the needs of under-served patient populations throughout the world. Taking advantage of many of the above agreements and active collaborations, we have summer experiences for our RWJMS students. We have sent students to Japan, Taiwan, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, India, Bangladesh, and Ireland. Students get exposure to ongoing clinical, academic, and research programs including visits to rural areas. The students also visit community clinics and collaborate with local students and faculty.

Karen WeiRu Lin, MD, MS, FAAFP

Associate Dean for Global Health