Global Health Research Concentration in Medical Student Earns Top Honors at National Conference – School of Medicine News

A Wayne State University medical student participating in a School of Medicine Office of Medical Student Research Programs’ scholarly concentration track won top honors for her presentation at the Consortium of Universities for Global Health’s annual meeting, held March 8-10 in Los Angeles. Arielle Wenokur, Class of 2025, is pursuing her medical degree with a scholarly concentration in global health. She won the organization’s Lancet Global Health Best Student Poster Competition within the Global Health Education category for her poster, “Assessing Knowledge of Global Healthcare Systems in Medical Education.”

The project analyzed medical student knowledge of global health care systems after students either attended a lecture series on the topic organized by the global health concentration class, had previous global health education or experience, or none of the above. The analysis identified that those who attended the lecture series had greater knowledge, but those with previous education or experience had greater confidence in their knowledge, even though their results were comparable to the control.

“Based on this information, we concluded that global health care system education should be incorporated into the medical student curriculum, as literature shows that global health education produces more competent physicians in terms of clinical diagnostic skills, physical exam skills and cultural competency,” she said.

The Global Health Concentration at the School of Medicine is built on the Global and Urban Health Equity certificate program, a two-year comprehensive curriculum based on the Consortium of Universities for Global Health interprofessional competencies and developed by the Wayne State University Global Health Alliance. The Office of Medical Student Research Programs, dedicated to providing and guiding students through scholarly projects and research, is one example of the WSU Prosperity Agenda, which includes accelerating mobility for all students by fostering opportunities like the research concentrations and supporting attendance at national meetings to present related projects.

For information on scholarly concentration opportunities at the School of Medicine, visit https://medstudentresearch.med.wayne.edu/sc.