Location
  • Mexico
    • Puerto Escondido
    • Oaxaca
Length
4 to 10 weeks
Industry
Biology Education Healthcare International Business International Relations Life Sciences Nursing Public Health Public Policy Social Work Sustainable Development +1
General grants/scholarships
Health & Safety

Program Details

Compensation
Unpaid
Timeframe
Academic Year Fall J-Term Maymester Spring Spring Break Summer Winter Year Round
Housing
Host Family
Language
English
Weekly Hours
40

Pricing

Starting Price
2975
Price Details
Please visit our website for full pricing of all programs.
What's Included
Accommodation Some Activities Airport Transfers Some Meals SIM cards Travel Insurance
What's Not Included
Some Activities Airfare Some Meals
Feb 27, 2024
Mar 25, 2024
9 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

As a CFHI participant, you will dig deeper into the healthcare system and culture of Oaxaca. You will observe how local healthcare professionals are addressing the challenges of literacy, sanitation, unemployment, and access to healthcare. You will live with a host family and take Spanish classes. The following programs will also provide you with unique insight and cultural competency for serving the growing Mexican immigrant population in the US and abroad:

Intensive Beginner Spanish & Global Health in Mexico
Global Health in Mexico, Oaxaca
Global Health in Mexico, Puerto Escondido

Video and Photos

Diversity & Inclusion

BIPOC Support

CFHI is deeply committed to supporting BIPOC participants in our programs, building our programs and operations from a basis of anti-oppression, anti-racist, and anti-colonial approaches. We work closely with our Global Team to provide participants with location-specific information regarding local customs, norms and recommendations. During pre-departure preparation, we encourage participants to discuss their identities, needs, abilities, and concerns and set up 1:1 planning calls to ensure questions are answered, and a robust support system is established before travel. In addition, our local teams and CFHI leadership are available 24/7 to offer support and assistance.

LGBTQIA+ Support

At CFHI, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for participants of all identities, including those within the LGBTQIA+ community. We firmly believe in equal access to quality global health education, ensuring that everyone can engage and thrive. We collaborate with our local teams to provide resources and support to participants that is specific to each program and location. During pre-departure, participants are encouraged to discuss their unique concerns and set up 1:1 planning calls to ensure questions are answered and a robust support system is established before travel. Through these efforts, we aim to foster an environment where participants can learn, grow, and make meaningful connections while participating in global health experiences.

Neurodivergent Support

CFHI encourages participants to discuss their accommodation needs with CFHI after acceptance to their program to ensure we understand the accommodations needed and be well prepared to support them. Before departure, our team will work directly with each student and their institution (if relevant) and will make every possible effort to implement learning and physical accommodations and adaptations, remove barriers and allow full access to the extent possible without fundamentally altering the program's essential structure and standards. If it is not possible to accommodate a student on their first choice of program due to significant structural barriers or similar, CFHI will work with the student and their institution to select another suitable program option.

Accessibility Support

CFHI encourages participants to discuss their accommodation needs with CFHI after acceptance to their program to ensure we understand the accommodations needed and be well prepared to support them. Before departure, our team will work directly with each student and their institution and will make every possible effort to implement learning and physical accommodations and adaptations, remove barriers and allow full access to the extent possible without fundamentally altering the program's essential structure and standards. If it is not possible to accommodate a student on their first choice of program due to significant structural barriers or similar, CFHI will work with the student and their institution to select another suitable program option

Impact

Sustainability

Sustainability is at the core of our partnerships at CFHI. Our longstanding global partnerships, spanning more than 10+ years, reflect our ethical and Fair-Trade approach. CFHI's organizational values emphasize our interconnectedness as humans sharing one planet. To expand educational opportunities while reducing our organizational carbon footprint, we offer a range of virtual/online programs. Additionally, several programs focus on Planetary Health and encourage participants through our Planetary Health Pledge to commit to actionable initiatives that contribute to a healthier planet. Through these efforts, we are dedicated to nurturing sustainable and enduring relationships with our partners and the planet.

Ethical Impact

CFHI is a leader in community-based Global Health Education Programs with over 30 years of experience and in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations. CFHI's work has centered around offering safe, ethical, and sustainable global health education opportunities to trainees and academic partners. Our research and scholarship have focused on documenting the harm caused by neocolonial and paternalistic approaches to global health engagement and collaboratively developing standards and best practices rooted in Fair Trade Learning Principles, Asset-Based approaches, and appropriate legal and regulatory frameworks. Through immersive experiences, participants are embedded in existing health systems, deepening their understanding of host countries' health landscapes, refining intercultural communication, exploring complex health realities, and cultivating a commitment to global health ethics.

Program Highlights

  • Rotate at community level clinics and hospitals.
  • Understand the impact of the social determinants of health on the local healthcare system.
  • Become immersed in Mexican culture and language through taking Spanish lessons and living with a host family in Oaxaca.

Program Reviews

4.90 Rating
based on 10 reviews
  • 5 rating 90%
  • 4 rating 10%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Growth 4.9
  • Support 4.9
  • Fun 4.7
  • Housing 4.9
  • Safety 4.8
Showing 9 - 10 of 10 reviews
Default avatar
Ranya
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Tropical Medicine in Puerto Escondido

My time in Puerto Escondido on the Tropical Medicine and Community-Based Health programme was an invaluable professional development opportunity. I have the chance to discuss with the local doctors on topics ranging from the political instability which resulted in hospital strikes, to an overview of the fragmented health system to how the vector control programmes worked within the region. Through being part of Oasis Surf & Spanish, I learnt how to surf and had lots of opportunity to improve my Spanish through living with a host family and taking medical Spanish lessons.

What would you improve about this program?
It took a while to get used to the change in pace of life - last minute planning and disorganisation is daily life in Puerto. I think slightly more direction for the local Medical Director and increased communication over what the programme would look like and being available for concerns would have made me feel more secure in my programme.
123 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Cate
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Global Health Project in Puerto Escondido

My time in Puerto Escondido, Mexico was nothing short of extraordinary. Upon arrival, I was greeted with warm smiles and open arms. While I had done quite a bit of traveling prior to this experience, this was my first time traveling truly alone and with a more career-oriented goal. That being said, I was very nervous and I apprehensive about how my experience would be.

Luckily, my apprehension soon dissipated after my arrival. In my short time in Puerto, not only did I work on my project regarding childhood obesity in Mexico and learn an incredible amount about the Mexican healthcare system, I also was given many unique opportunities to learn about the culture and the people of Puerto. Being associated with the Oasis Surf and Language school allowed me to meet a ton of new people and have access to many amazing activities. To name a few, during my three weeks I was able to learn how to surf, freshen up on my Spanish, go to the local market, eat amazing local cuisine, release baby sea turtles on the beach, visit two different midwifes, learn how to cook typical Mexican meals from my host mom, watch movies on the beach, visit a wildlife refuge, hike along some ancient trails, and listen to the stories of some amazing local people.

Every day I would go to a local clinic and work on discovering and reducing health disparities that I found to be present in the population, and every evening I would sit on the beach and watch the sun disappear below the rolling ocean waves. It was truly a setting and an experience that made me reflect and realize how lucky I am and how badly I want to improve the health and well-being of others in populations around the globe. I am so lucky to have had the chance to experience all that I did with my short time in this coastal town of Oaxaca, and I would not have had such a chance if it weren't for CFHI! I definitely recommend this program and this organization to anyone who is looking to experience something new and life changing in the realm of healthcare.

What would you improve about this program?
The only thing for me that could have improved the experience deals with the language barrier I experienced. While I had previously taken Spanish courses and also took some classes while I was in Puerto, I found that I did not pick the language back up as quickly as I would have hoped. That being said, in my first week's clinical rotation I found that I was unable to speak with any of the staff besides the doctor. Although I tried to speak in Spanish, their inability to understand any English left me feeling inadequate and frustrated that I could not learn more from them and ask them the questions I wanted to. Luckily, after the first week, I was paired up with a student that spoke both English and Spanish fluently. She acted as my translator and this allowed me to learn a lot more during my time in Puerto. With that, my one suggestion would be to have the option of having a translator available to students who are uncomfortable with the language and need some extra help, even if it would just be available for a small portion of the time.
113 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers