Since 2012, more than 120 Larner medical students have participated in the UVM-Nuvance Global Health (GH) Program in various countries around the world.
In the following blog post, three Class of 2027 students who recently participated in the GH elective — Sarah Chiavacci (Uganda), Max Pendleton (Vietnam), and Arya Kale (Dominican Republic) — reflect on their experiences during different moments in their programs.
“While the hospital and clinical rotation is a major part of this program, it is the element of cultural immersion that makes this experience truly unique and invaluable.” —Sarah Chiavacci
“I’m very excited to share my experiences with the community, and cannot overstate how much of an impact it had on my career trajectory.” —Max Pendleton
“This experience was formative in how I want to practice medicine, constantly learning from other communities and sharing ideas, stories, and culture with people from around the world.” —Arya Kale
History of the UVM-Nuvance Global Health Program
From its inception, the Nuvance Health Global Health (GH) Program has been focused on GH education and using education as a sustainable means to improve clinical outcomes. The GH Program was established at Danbury Hospital (later Nuvance Health) in 2012 by founding director Majid Sadigh, M.D., who at the time was a UVM clinical associate professor of medicine. This was done in partnership with UVM’s Larner College of Medicine, as the students undergoing core clinical rotations at the Connecticut campus had an interest in the program’s establishment.
Along with the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine established several international partner sites—in Uganda, Dominican Republic, Zimbabwe, with other sites such as Vietnam, Thailand, India, Botswana, and Armenia joining later. Based on principles of mutual respect and reciprocity, cultural sensitivity, and equity and inclusivity, the international partnerships make the Nuvance Health GH Program uniquely positioned to offer six-week-long GH electives to medical students.
Read the student stories below.
UGANDA: Sarah Chiavacci ’27
My interest in global health began at a young age, sparked by my father’s international travels for work, which introduced me to different cultures and ways of life. As I grew, this curiosity evolved into a genuine passion for understanding others, challenging my own perspectives, and experiencing life through diverse cultural lenses. During my undergraduate studies, majoring in Anthropology deepened my understanding of these interests, guiding me to realize that my passion extended beyond medicine alone—I aspired to pursue a career in global health.
Pre-Departure Reflection
As a doula and aspiring future OB-GYN, I am particularly interested in exploring the cultural practices surrounding childbirth. Doula work has deep roots sprouting from African tradition, making this opportunity particularly valuable and meaningful to me. I am eager to observe and learn from Ugandan healthcare providers and mothers about their approaches to prenatal care, labor, and postpartum support.
Week One: Clinical Immersion Observations
While St. Stephen’s is a small local hospital, it has an out-patient clinic, HIV clinic, vaccination clinic, in-patient men’s, women’s, and children ward, maternity ward, radiology, and surgical theater. The practitioners are most commonly midwives, OB-GYNs, and Orthopedic surgeons. However, from shadowing hospital rounds, it appeared that some OB-GYNs also dabbled in practicing pediatrics and internal medicine – when needed. The resource-limited nature of the hospital seemed to inspire the physicians to become increasingly competent in their specialty and allowed them to increase their knowledge base, helping to better serve the patient population. As a doula, I was extremely excited to learn from the Midwives. Throughout the week I was able to observe antenatal visits, learning how to estimate gestational age from a physical exam and fundal measurements, how to trace a fetal heart rate with a pinard horn (a wooden cup-like instrument used by African midwives and doulas to hear inside the womb), and observed multiple cesarean sections (performed by OB-GYN).
Between c-sections and orthopedic surgeries, most of my time was spent in the hospital’s single surgical theater. While the overly sterile nature of the American OR differs from that of the OR at St. Stephen’s, I was immensely impressed by the volume and complexity of surgeries they can effectively perform with limited access to resources. In a single day, surgeries ranged in scope from c-sections to tibial reductions, to tonsillectomies. The biggest difference I noticed was that of anesthesia styles, as all procedures below the umbilicus were performed with only spinal anesthesia. This is a fact I learned when a patient (who I assumed was under general anesthesia) sat up spontaneously to check the progress of the plate removal from his previous fibular reduction operation. As described, I have seen and learned A LOT from my first week at St. Stephen’s Hospital.
Week One: Cultural Immersion Observations
While the hospital and clinical rotation is a major part of this program, it is the element of cultural immersion that makes this experience truly unique and invaluable. To begin with, I am fully embracing Ugandan culture by electing to live with a host family. The Luboga’s are a large, warm, and vibrant family that has welcomed us into their home. Their guest house provides us each with independent rooms, allowing for 2 community meals a day and independent time to decompress and reflect in the evening before bed. The local cuisine consists of matoke (mashed, cooked plantains), beans, different sauces (my favorite being a brown groundnut sauce), vegetable rice, meats, potatoes, and the most delicious, fresh fruits I have ever tasted. While meals in the US have become rushed, eaten in different locations, and often quickly prepared, breakfast and dinner at the Luboga’s is much more intentional. The community aspect of the meals has been very refreshing, as it provides a time for us all to come together and connect. During this time we talk about our days, compare cultural differences, and learn some basic Lugandan (the local language).
VIETNAM: Max Pendleton, ’27
Post-Program Reflection
My name is Max Pendleton and I am one of the students that participated in the Global Health Elective at Cho Ray Hospital in Vietnam over the 2024 summer, and my interest is in anesthesiology and pain management.
I cannot overstate the impact the Global Health Elective had on my desire to pursue global health as a part of my career as a physician. The skills and perspectives I learned while seeing how physicians and healthcare workers navigate the healthcare system in Vietnam broadened my knowledge of what it means to be a great physician, and how dynamic and creative thinking provides high quality care, regardless of the settings or limitations that are faced by a specific healthcare system. I hope to incorporate these perspectives throughout all aspects of my career and going forward with my lifelong learning, and am so grateful to Larner, Nuvance, Cho Ray, and all the wonderful healthcare professionals that made this opportunity possible for my learning after my M1 year.
I am extremely excited to share my experiences with the community and cannot overstate how much of an impact it had on my career trajectory. It was not just educational change; this was a life-changing experience for me.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Arya Kale, ’27
Post-Program Reflection
I traveled with my classmate, Stefa, to the Dominican Republic this summer as part of the Global Health Elective. In six weeks, I rotated across different specialties including infectious disease, pediatric hematology/oncology, chronic diabetes management, cardiology and nephrology.
Interacting with patients, physicians, and other hospital staff entirely in Spanish was difficult (and very exhausting) at first, but it became second nature by the time the elective ended. Our host family was warm and inviting, sharing food, stories, and travel tips. Stefa and I explored the famous beaches in the DR and ate some of the best food I have had: Dominican staples, such as Mofongo and Asopao, as well as international dishes, such as paella and Creole style stews.
Although I wish we could have explored the inland mountains, forests, and caves more, I am grateful we could use the weekends to mainly rest from the typically exhausting weeks. This experience was formative in how I want to practice medicine, constantly learning from other communities and sharing ideas, stories, and culture with people from around the world.
Read related Larner news feature, Larner Medical Students Go Global
Visit Global Health Diaries, reflections from the Nuvance Global Health Network and Larner College of Medicine
