Program

The McGill Humanitarian Studies Initiative (HSI) is an exciting, multi-disciplinary program that will train resident-physicians and fellows who have had some previous experience in international health and/or in humanitarian response to disaster and refugee crises.

McGill HSI will train physicians in current humanitarian issues throughout their residencies and fellowships. Each participant will use elective and/or vacation time to fulfill HSIR requirements and can design their program to fit their schedule while meeting the necessary program requirements. The one to two-year educational plan includes:

Introductory meeting with co-directors and program colleagues
Monthly evening seminar sessions at McGill University
A two-week intensive HSI course on humanitarian issues at Harvard University in Boston in April
Contribution as mentors in the McGill Interprofessional Global Health Course for health-profession students
A weekend field simulation exercise in the Harold Parker State Forest in Massachusetts in April
A 1 to 3 month-long, supervised international field placement in a humanitarian setting at any point during or after their residency or fellowship or when it convenes with their schedule Mentorship by both McGill and Harvard HSIR faculty
Guided production of an academic work in humanitarian studies
A certificate in Humanitarian Studies upon program completion
Continued mentorship/involvement with the HSIR students as alumni
Participation in educational opportunities highlighting offered at affiliated hospitals and universities

Program Goals

The goals of the McGill Humanitarian Studies Initiative (HSI) are to:

Train a core of residents and fellows (and eventually, nursing
Provide educational opportunities to the McGill medical community that is specific to humanitarian work
Add an important, novel program to McGill’s Faculty of Medicine that will have an impact both within the McGill community and globally

McGill HSI participants will gain:

A solid base in the theory of humanitarian studies
Competency-based training in humanitarian field work
Intensive field experience
A McGill-based research mentor
A network of health professionals working in humanitarian research and relief
A final project of publishable quality

With these resources, McGill HSIR participants will have a solid foundation on which to build a career in international humanitarian work.

Program Curriculum

Participating students will complete the HSIR curriculum over a contiguous one to two-year period.

FIRST YEAR

HSI Core Course
This two-week course at Harvard University, taught by experts in the field of humanitarian studies from all over the world, will cover the core competencies of HSIR. The course will be offered once a year and HSI participants may complete it during vacation or elective time. It is intended that McGill will eventually be able to offer this course on campus, in Montreal.

McGill Global Health Course
This series of half-day modules on global health is offered to McGill medical students from January to April. The aim is to introduce international health and provide basic competency plus a pre-departure workshop for those students who are interested in exploring this area as part of their training. HSI participants who have completed the HSI core course would co-teach some of the modules and provide mentorship to these students as they develop their skills and knowledge base.

HHI-HSI-HSIR Field Simulation
Prior to field work, HSI participants will take part in a weekend-long humanitarian crisis field simulation, generally held the last weekend in April each year in the Harold Parker State Forest, near Andover Massachusetts. The HSI Disaster simulation is unique because of its practical nature of using current humanitarian crises and its application of skills gained in the classroom. The simulation requires participants to think on their feet in stressful, time-constrained, demanding situations. It is comprehensive, rapid, and adaptable to other regions of the world or other types of programs. It is generalizable, in that it prepares people for all types of humanitarian response and assumes differing levels of expertise, for example, those with minimal training will get good exposure, and those with some training will be able to expand their knowledge base. The team-building experience mimics a more realist simulation of intra-team dynamics in the field with a wide variety of multi-disciplinary participants (not just health care but also other sectors required in comprehensive humanitarian response).

SECOND YEAR

Fidel Work
McGill HSI faculty will pair participants with a hosting humanitarian agency and to conduct supervised field work for a 4-12 week period. Participants, with the support of both the field mentor and the faculty mentor, will be expected to complete a field project of publishable quality. The field project may take the form of research, an evaluation, a ‘best-practice’ project description, or a policy position paper. HSI participants will need call-free elective or vacation time to complete their field work. Alternately they can complete their field work upon completing their residency or fellowship program.

Final Project
HSI participants will be required to present their field project to their respective residency or fellowship programs and to the HSIR group. They will also be encouraged to present their experiences to other interested audiences. These presentations are aimed at educating the larger McGill medical community about humanitarian studies. With the help of the telecommunications departments, some of these presentations may be teleconferenced from the field.

Program Eligibility

Residents and fellows enrolled in a participating residency program, and who have previous experience in international health or humanitarian response to disaster are eligible to apply. Eventually, the competition will be open to any interested Faculty of Medicine staff and nursing students. Residents and fellows must be able to devote two weeks in April of call-free elective or vacation time, and a minimum of four weeks of call-free elective or vacation time to HSIR for the placement over a contiguous two-year period.

Each applicant must submit an application form, a personal statement of interest and a current CV. Please see the application form for details of submission. The application form will be posted in March of each year.

Cost and Funding

For details, please contact Andrea Zdyb,

Humanitarian Studies at Tufts University

Tufts University (Boston and Medford, Massachusetts) offers three different Master’s Degrees in humanitarian studies, through two distinguished schools:

Food Policy/Applied Nutrition, Humanitarian Assistance (MS and PhD) Meeting the challenge of food security, livelihoods and nutrition in humanitarian emergencies

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) with Humanitarian Studies specialization Addressing displacement and refugee, gender, conflict, human rights and, protection issues in emergencies

Master of Arts in Humanitarian Assistance, The Feinstein International Center Offering mid-career humanitarian professionals an academic setting in which to develop their knowledge and skills in humanitarian action

Students can take advantage of single- and dual degree programs, and opportunities to study at both schools. Graduates gain an understanding of how crisis environments evolve, how affected communities cope, and how the international humanitarian system intervenes.

Applications for the 2011-2012 Academic year are due by January 15 for most programs, and February 28 for the MAHA program.

For information on all program offerings, visit the website at http://www.friedman-fletcher.org. Information is available on all three programs, along with admissions contacts and procedures, faculty, and courses.