Off to the Palestinian Territories/West Bank this week. I am excited to join the group of more than 390,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds and fields who are Fulbrighters. Several of my family medicine colleagues inspired me to do this--Thanks Bill Ventres and Kathie Culhane-Pera, and Mike Fetters who spent time in El Salvador, Thailand and Japan, respectively. The program was established after WWII by the the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, who introduced legislation for the program as an opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Senator Fulbright was a Southern Democrat who is the longest serving chairman in the history of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was a Rhodes scholar and a lawyer and introduce a resolution that laid the groundwork for the United Nations. He was considered too controversial, however, to be President John Kennedy's secretary of state.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.  The Fulbright Program isfunded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S.Department of State.  Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operate sin over 160 countries worldwide.

Fulbrighters address critical global challenges in all disciplines, while building relationships, knowledge, and leadership insupport of the long-term interests of the United States.  Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields, including 59 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 84 who have received Pulitzer Prizes, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.

My focus is faculty development with professors as the eight year old Division of Family Medicine at An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestinian Territories/West Bank. I hope to help them develop Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCEs). This modality of teaching and evaluating are used around the world to help health professionals learn clinical skills and to evaluate clinical skills. A patient actor who has a script for a clinical problem interacts with the learner and then gives the learner feedback. Usually a faculty member observes the interaction and gives feedback as well. In addition, I will help the division develop their skills in qualitative research. 

I am lucky to work along side family physicians from Britain who have been working with faculty for the last six years. This team has been supporting the division with online learning modules and on the ground workshops several times a year. 

In the desert, so I will miss my Narragansett bay views, kayak paddles and walks, as well as my large mugs of coffee and the freedom to run. And of course, Reed and our dog Conner. However, there is a beauty to this ancient land and the tiny cups of Turkish Coffee are to be savored.

Stay tuned . . .