U.S. Medical students in Nepal

A formal course on H.man Ecology in the H.malayas proved to be a powerful educational innovation partly because of its international setting. The six students in the medical part of this course experienced a profound affective impact on their career goals, a totally new orientation toward the problems of poverty in the United States, and a changed appreciation of the need for preventive measures and a community approach. The effect was far greater than that usually associated with individualized international experiences because of careful preparatory seminars, group activities which included surveys and research, and abundant opportunity for interpretive discussions as cultural and health care shock was being experienced. Clinical work was kept in perspective and provided opportunities for learning, not only about exotic diseases but also about what could be done under the simplest of conditions.