April 26, 2018 | Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon, Mexico | Laura Marrero/IAD Staff
Medical students from the Adventist-operated Montemorelos University in North Mexico, will have the opportunity to perform medical rotations at Loma Linda University clinics and hospitals as early as this summer, thanks to a special agreement made between both institutions.
The official copy of the Clinical Education Affiliation Agreement signed late last year made its way to the Montemorelos University campus recently.
“We look for an internationalization through agreements like this one because it gives a unique experience to our students, so they can learn other scopes and areas of world medical practice,” said Dr. Nahum García, director of the School of Health Sciences at Montemorelos University. “Our purpose is also to form them as missionaries so they can have that international touch.”
The agreement was signed by executives and medical school directors from both institutions and will be valid for a period of five years with possibility of renewal, said Dr. García.
The initiative becomes the first of its kind between both universities’ medical schools and resulted from a meeting held by the Consortium of Adventist Medical Education Leaders last year in Loma Linda University. Montemorelos University has been part of the consortium since 2014.
The agreement stipulates that clinical rotations at LLU take place, and a committee from the school of medicine at Montemorelos will have to go through a rigorous selection process.
To be eligible, medical students will have to be on their final year medical degree studies, have mastered English through specific examinations like the TOEFL exam as well as a telephone interview, complete a medical report of immunizations for international travelers, and cover all their expenses including medical insurance, travel visa, among other requirements.
“We expect our eligible students to take advantage of this opportunity while always upholding their values and principles that have been instilled in them from their home and here at the university,” said García.
Rotations can begin this summer and will be available at any time of the year, except in May, June, and December, he added.
More collaboration agreements are in the works with LLU in other health areas and careers, according to García.
Montemorelos University’s School of Medicine was the first Adventist medical school outside of the United States to be established in 1975. The school currently has more than 650 students, dozens of different countries and keeps agreements with other public and private institutions in Mexico and abroad.
Loma Linda University (LLU) is a Seventh-day Adventist educational health-sciences institution with more than 4,500 students pursuing in 100 degree and certificate programs across its eight schools. LLU is also known for its pioneer work in infant heart transplants, proton therapy treatment for cancer, and studies on vegetarian diet and healthy lifestyle. Loma Linda is also one of five Blue Zones® — in the world and the only one in the United States, where people live longer, healthier and happier than anywhere else on the planet.