Vanderbilt Master of Public Health (MPH) students presented their practicum experiences at the 2018 Public Health Practicum Colloquium on January 26. Through posters and discussion, students presented their practicum experiences working and learning in public health organizations and settings. Click here to view photos of the 2018 colloquium, and read below for practicum descriptions from MPH candidates in the Global Health track. 
 
  

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Master of Public Health (MPH) student in the Global Health track, Roberta Hutton, is completing her practicum and thesis work at the Central American Medical Outreach Foundation (CAMO) in western Honduras. 
 
 On her experience, Roberta writes, "At the Central American Medical Outreach Foundation (CAMO) in western Honduras I helped create an extensive monitoring and evaluation system for the nursing capacitation program at a local hospital through focus groups, interviews, data-flow analysis and protocol development.

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Master of Public Health (MPH) student in the Global Health track and PRISM Scholar, Salesio Macuacua, M.D., completed his practicum at Barretos Cancer Hospital in Brazil. 
 
 The Vanderbilt Master of Public Health (MPH) Program is a two-year interdisciplinary program offered through the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. The

View photos from the 2016 Public Health Practicum Colloquium. 

Since returning to the United States from a three-month stint working in rural Guatemala, I’ve been thinking about how messy and random global health delivery—even when it’s really effective—can be. Specifically, I’ve been struck by the central role that luck or serendipity plays in achieving positive health outcomes. I’m talking about that moment when a patient walks out of the clinic and you sit back and think about all of the stars that had to align in order for that patient to get the care she needs.