Med school students share stories; 40 traveled overseas during summer.

Byline: Kelly Glista

WORCESTER - Colorful poster boards, photographs and brochures of international destinations filled the lobby at the University of Massachusetts Medical School yesterday afternoon.

But the 40 second-year medical students who traveled to these places had much more on their minds than a summer vacation.

The school sent students to 18 countries for community service and health education programs, as well as language and cultural training. For some it is a graduation requirement, but for others it's simply an optional learning opportunity. Yesterday's Global Medical Education Fair in the first-floor lobby of the medical school was a chance to share those experiences with the rest of the school community.

Weizhen Tan and David Bick spent over a month in the state of Yap, Micronesia, which is about 3,000 miles southwest of Hawaii. While there the two students spent time working in hospitals, visiting local clinics and analyzing data on the area's medical issues, specifically the rising anemia rate.

"Living on a small island completely changes the way of life and medical care," Mr. Bick said.

One of the major differences they both noted was in the local diet and nutrition. Because there is very little that can be grown locally, Micronesians depend mostly on imported goods, which can be very expensive, Mr. Tan said. Many people resort to cheaper foods that are high in calories but low in nutritional value which leads to a lot of obesity, hypertension and diabetes.

"It's really hard to advise people when there are not that many options," Mr. Tan said.

Their separate research on anemia was prompted by local doctors who had noticed that the rate seemed to be rising in recent years because of disease outbreaks in 2004 and 2007. The most interesting find, Mr. Tan said, was that the rate of anemia in foreigners living in Yap was about 50 percent less than in native Micronesians. Both said that though they were only able to formulate graphs, by the end of their visit they hoped to maybe continue that research in the future and even return to Yap in their fourth year of school.

"You leave and you just don't want to forget about it," Mr. Tan said.

Of course they did manage to have a little fun while in Yap, which happens to be one of the top scuba sites in the world, so both were certified in scuba diving before the end of their travels.

Elaine Balutis and Linda Sinclair spent a month of their summer in Malawi, Africa, working with an organization assisting with AIDS/HIV education. Ms. Balutis said that the area was fondly called "the warm heart" of Africa and she was surprised to see the level of treatment available.

"I was amazed at how established they are," she said.

Neither Ms. Balutis nor Ms. Sinclair is involved in an academic program that requires international travel, but both wanted to do something worthwhile with their summer and said that they hope to return as well.

Other students traveled to countries such as Brazil, Ghana, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Some of the locations, such as Brazil, were chosen because of their large immigrant populations in Massachusetts so that students can continue work in that community after returning to school and even after graduation. According to the office of Public Affairs and Publications, almost half of all UMass Medical students participate in an international program before graduation.

Board of Trustees member Ruben J. King-Shaw Jr. said that when it comes to supporting international travel among students, only good can come of it. He said that he and his wife have made a commitment to help support this effort by the medical school and they hope it will inspire others to join in.

"Medical schools should do this, and I'm glad that UMass is," he said.

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: First-year medical students Lindsay Abcunas, left, and Jennifer Crombie, right, talk with Weizhen Tan, center, about his trip to Yap, Micronesia, yesterday during the Global Medical Education Fair at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

PHOTOG: T&G Staff/MARK C. IDE