Center for Global Health and Global Health Education (CGHEd)
At Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU), the Center for Global Health and Global Health Education (CGHEd) is committed to advancing ethical, sustainable, and impactful Global Health (GH) education and practice. Our mission is to address the growing GH needs locally and internationally while fostering the passion for GH among medical students, trainees, faculty, and staff.
Our Vision
The CGHEd promotes ethical, sustainable GH education and practice to address health inequities locally and globally by focusing on:
- Ethical and Sustainable Global Health Practices
We adhere to best practices such as the WEIGHT Guidelines (Working Group on Ethics Guidelines for Institutions, Trainees, and Sponsors of Field-Based GH Training) to ensure our initiatives are ethically sound and sustainable. - Comprehensive Global Health Education (GHEd) Competencies
Our education programs align with the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) interprofessional GH competencies, standardizing knowledge, skills, and evaluations for learners at all levels. - Local and International Collaboration
Global health is not limited to international work. We embrace a "Glocal Health" approach, fostering partnerships with both high-income and low- to middle-income communities to address health needs in diverse settings.
GH improves clinical, cultural, and linguistic skills, enhances understanding of GH interconnectivity, and inspires humanitarian and public health careers. More than 60% of U.S. medical students express strong interest in GH, making it a critical area of education.
About CGHEd
Founded in 2023 with the visionary support of CMSRU Dean Annette C. Reboli, MD, and led by urogynecologist Anna Pancheshnikov, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, CGHEd was established to meet the growing demand for GH engagement within the CMSRU community. Our center embodies an approach that prioritizes:
- Ethical engagement with GH partners
- Sustainability in all educational and practical initiatives
- Academic rigor to ensure meaningful contributions to the GH field
Key CGHEd Initiatives:
The Center for Global Health and Global Health Education (CGHEd) offers the Global Health Scholarly Concentration (GH SC), designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to address global and local health challenges. Participants explore critical topics such as the global burden of disease, social and environmental determinants of health, health equity and social justice, and GH ethics.
Students engage in:
- Collaborative study, research, and practice
- Mentored GH activities in local, national, and/or international settings
- Opportunities to partner with diverse organizations to improve health outcomes
Global Health (GH) is “an area for study, research, and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide”. Engaging in GH activities can provide medical students with an opportunity to gain clinical, cultural, and linguistic skills, participate in the transfer of knowledge and skills with counterparts in low-resource environments, gain an appreciation for the interconnectedness of health worldwide, increase interest in primary care specialties, humanitarianism, and public health, and improve interactions with underserved communities locally.
Mentored Global Health Initiatives:
The GURU Initiative addresses the critical need for urogynecologic education, training and care concentrating on pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) in the Dominican Republic (DR) through a collaborative partnership between CMSRU and UNIBE (Universidad Iberoamericana, Medical School in Santo Domingo, DR). PFDs, including conditions like urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse, profoundly affect millions of women worldwide, yet access to specialized care and training is limited, particularly in low-resource settings.
Vision and Mission:
Founded in 2017 by Dr. Anna Pancheshnikov, GURU aims to empower local Dominican healthcare professionals by providing sustainable, high-quality education and training in urogynecology. This initiative fosters the development of local expertise through robust inter-institutional collaborations and is scalable to other countries in the region.
- Education and Training: Over 100 Dominican gynecology and urology residents and physicians trained through a longitudinal urogynecology curriculum including theoretical classes, workshops, and journal clubs led by local and international experts.
- Simulation and Practical Skills: Hands-on training using anatomical models and supervised clinical practice, ensuring participants gain procedural and surgical expertise.
- Clinical and Surgical Experience: More than 300 low-income patients evaluated and over 100 vaginal surgeries performed, enhancing access to essential urogynecologic care while training local physicians.
Through GURU, CMSRU and UNIBE are committed to addressing the gap in urogynecology education and improving the quality of life for underserved women suffering from PFDs in the DR by creating a sustainable model for local capacity building.
Get Involved
Explore how you can participate in CGHEd’s programs, collaborate on initiatives, or learn more about our impact.
Dr. Anna Pancheshnikov
CGHEd Director
pancheshnikov-anna@cooperhealth.edu
Safa Preston
Education Coordinator
preston@rowan.edu