This summer, VIA proudly hosted 40 of Asia’s best and brightest medical students at Stanford University on our annual Medical Exchange and Discovery (MED) program. This intensive three-week cultural immersion and professional development experience empowered students to critically examine the strengths and weaknesses of health care systems in the their home countries and in the US. In addition, participants had a unique opportunity to gain practical skills such as learning how to conduct a patient interview in English using culturally competent techniques.

The dynamic MED curriculum is rooted in experiential learning principles and continues to grow and evolve as we expand the scope of our partnerships with the Bay Area medical community. Highlights from this year’s program include guest lectures by experts from Stanford Hospital, UCSF Orthopaedic Institute, and local nonprofits on a variety of topics, such as US medical education, emergency medicine, and the challenges of providing health care to persons facing homelessness.

An exciting collaboration with Dr. Andrew Chacko, medical director at the Palo Alto VA Hospital, provided students with a chance to explore the intersection of creativity and medicine through an interactive design-thinking workshop. We also partnered with Drs. Errol Ozdalga and Abraham Verghese of Stanford Medicine 25 for a hands-on workshop covering effective physical examination techniques. Moreover, students joined more than 15 hours of clinical English lessons delivered by MED Faculty In Residence Dr. Takayuki Oshimi.

Read more reflections from our summer 2016 programs in the VIAlogue!