Spring Break Internship. 3/28/2010 - 4/11/2010    Adult Research and Clinics. Puer State, Lancang County.

Setting. Puer has an important location in China's southwestern boundary, neighboring Laos, Vietnam and Burma and sharing a 486 kilometers border with these countries. It has medium sized mountains which comprise 90% of its land area. Weather is mild and humid without strong winds. March is the dry season. Puer has many ethnic minorities, such as Lahu, Hani, Wa and Yi. In addition, Puer is the hometown of the well known Puer Tea, and Puer people have diversified ways of handling tea, such as bamboo tube tea, cold tea dish, earth-pot tea and baked tea.

Logistics. We will meet first with local administrative and medical leadership and use standard epidemiologic methodology to choose a random sample of the adult population for study. We will then visit two or three villages where we will run daily research clinics to survey this random sample for blood pressure and ultrasound measurements of left ventricular size. Each afternoon and each market day will be devoted to adult and pediatric hypertension and cardiac clinics.

Qualifications and Fees. We will accept no more than five student interns for this trip. To participate, you must qualify. Please apply here and sign send us the signed waiver. You must be in good health and you must be in Kunming by no later than March 27. You are required to cover the cost of your round trip air ticket to Kunming city, local travel, local room and meals. Local expenses are usually about $150 per week. We also request a tax deductible donation of $1400.

May Internship. 5/9/2010 - 5/29/2010. Pediatric Heart Screening and Clinics. Hong He State.

Setting. Hong He is located southeast of Kunming. Most locations can be reached within eight hours by bus. Its terrain is mountainous and hilly and many slopes are covered with rice terraces which have been present for thousands of years. The main features of its weather are mildness and humidity without strong winds. May is likely to be dry and mild. Its inhabitants include the Yi, Hani and Miao minorities. Minority floks, especially the Yi and the Miao, dress in beautiful costumes and are very hospitable. Food is spicy and there are many unusual dishes like bamboo worms, stir fried bees and various wild vegetables.

Logistics. We will be accompanied by Professor Marion Tupple MD, of the pediatrics department at The University of Vancouver. Professor Tupple will be lending her expertise in diagnosis and clinical management of the children that we see and will be teaching us about pediatric congenital heart disease.

We will allot time for pediatric screening for congenital heart disease and arrange for screening children in elementary schools, clinics and village centers. We plan on screening at least 4000 children and expect to find about 30 cases of congenital heart disease. China Cal will provide help to needy families of these children so they can receive necessary surgical and catheter based interventions. Student after training and certification will actively participate in screening the children with their stethoscopes.

Qualifications and Fees. We will accept no more than five interns for this trip. To participate, you must qualify. Please apply here and sign send us the signed waiver. You must be in good health and you must be in Kunming by no later than May 8. You are required to cover the cost of your round trip air ticket to Kunming city, local travel, local room and meals. Local expenses are usually about $150 per week. We also request a donation of $2000.

Mid Summer Internship. 6/16/2010 - 7/22/2010. Adult Research and Clinics; Pediatric Heart Screening and Clinics. Shangrila County.

Setting. Shangrila county was formerly called Zhongdian County but was renamed after the fictional land of Shangri-La in the James Hilton novel Lost Horizon in 2001 in an effort to promote tourism. The local Tibetan population refers to it by the name Gyalthang. The terrain consists of towering mountains, the tallest of which are covered with snow and glaciers the year round and green fertile valleys. We will be working at elevations over 10000 feet. Please consider this if you are prone to mountain sickness. The weather is cold in winter but mild in summer. Major minorities are Tibetan and Lisu. Food is rich in animal fat and dairy products made from the milk of the yak. We have found a high prevalence of heart disease and hypertension in this area probably due to the high fat, high salt diet.

Logistics. The first part (6/16 – 6/30) will consist of adult research and adult clinics in Tibetan and Lisu villages near the city of Shangrila. We will be accompanied by faculty from Kunming Medical College and Beijing University. The second part of this trip (7/1 – 7/22) will consist of pediatric screening, pediatric clinics and adult clinics in Tibetan villages. During part of this period, Professor Anthony Chang of the University of California, Irvine will teach us about pediatric congenital heart disease and assist us in correctly diagnosing and managing children with pediatric heart disease.

We will meet first with local administrative and medical leadership and use standard epidemiologic methodology to choose a random sample of the adult population for study. We will also allot time for pediatric screening for congenital heart disease and arrange for screening children in local village centers and clinics. We will visit three to five villages where we will run daily research clinics to survey this random sample for blood pressure and ultrasound measurements of left ventricular size. Each afternoon and each market day will be devoted to adult and pediatric hypertension and cardiac clinics.

Qualifications and Fees. We will not accept more than five student for any part of this trip. To participate, you must qualify. Please apply here and sign and send us the signed waiver. You must be in good health and you must be in Kunming by no later than June 15 to participate in the first part of this trip or the entire trip. To participate in the second part, you must be in Shangrila City by no later than June 30. You are required to cover the cost of your round trip air ticket to Kunming city, local travel, local room and meals. Local expenses are usually about $150 per week. We also request a donation of $2500 for the entire trip, $1400 for only the first part and $2000 for only the second part.

August Internship. 8/10/2010 - 8/31/2010. Adult Research and Clinics. Jiao Tong State.

Setting. Zhao Tong is located in the northeast corner of Yunnan province. Its terrain is mountainous. Fossils discovered in the mountain caves indicate that human settlers began to move here one hundred thousand years ago, and many Neolithic relics have been discovered. Zhaotong has a plateau monsoon climate. Due to the terrain, Zhaotong is sunny and warmer in the south region. Zhaotong has a great number of ethnic minorities. Among the 520 thousand minority people, Yi and Miao ethnic minorities dominate.

Logistics. We will be accompanied by faculty from Kunming Medical College and Beijing University.

We will meet first with local administrative and medical leadership and use standard epidemiologic methodology to choose a random sample of the adult population for study. We will then visit two or three villages where we will run daily research clinics to survey this random sample for blood pressure and ultrasound measurements of left ventricular size. Each afternoon and each market day will be devoted to adult and pediatric hypertension and cardiac clinics.

Qualifications and Fees. We will not accept more than five students for this trip. To participate, you must qualify. Please apply here and sign send us the signed waiver. You must be in good health and you must be in Kunming by no later than May 8. You are required to cover the cost of your round trip air ticket to Kunming city, local travel, local room and meals. Local expenses are usually about $150 per week. We request a donation of $1400.