International exchange exposes students to American medicine

Dr. John Sinnott oversees as one of the students practices an ear exam.

Seven medical students from Yeungnam University College of Medicine in Daegu, South Korea, learned how American medical students prepare for their profession when they participated in the Stephen Klasko Clinical Observership Program Jan. 4 to 19. The USF College of Medicine Office of International Affairs hosted the students for the two-week clinical rotation exchange program.

The program was co-directed by Dr. John Sinnott, associate dean of COM international affairs and director of the Division of Infectious Disease, and Dr. Lynette Menezes, assistant professor and director of international affairs, and coordinated by Helen Georgiev.

With the goal of gaining more clinical knowledge and enhancing their understanding of medicine and physician-patient interaction, the students accompanied leading USF physicians in the following specialty rotations at Tampa General Hospital: Dr. Mark Rumbak and Dr. Nathan Do, Pulmonary and Critical Care; Dr. John Cha, General Surgery; Dr. Harry Van Loveren and Dr. Fernando Vale, Neurosugery; Dr. Gregg Baran, Dr. Claude Guidi and Dr. Carlos Martinez, Radiology; and Dr. Jose Montero, Dr. Todd Wills, Dr. Charurut Somboonwit and Dr. Beata Casanas, Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Sinnott demonstrates testing reflexes.

The program also featured lectures by Dr. Sinnott, Clinical Skills; Dr. Beata Casanas, Tuberculosis; Dr. John Toney, MRSA; Dr. David Nicolau, Hospital Treatment of Infectious Diseases; and Dr. Prakash Doke, Health Services in India. The students participated in an interactive training at the Department of Pediatrics Team Education and Multidisciplinary Simulation “TEAMS” Center and toured Tampa General Hospital.

The South Korean students also met with their medical student counterparts at USF and learned about diseases uncommon in South Korea.

For more information about the Stephen Klasko Observership Program for International Medical Students, contact Kristy Andre, COM coordinator of international affairs, kristyandre@gmail.com or (813) 844-8374.

L to R: South Korean medical students Yeong uk Kim, Akash Parekh (USF honors COM undergraduate), Seong man Bae, Dong han Kim(back), Jong yoon Baek(front), Ho jung Jung(back), Wyn Parksook (student in the Thailand Observership Program), Su won Hur (back), and Ho dong Na(front).

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