International College of Dentists provides grant for extramural rotations at College of Dentistry
The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry recently received a grant from the International College of Dentists (ICD) to support travel expenses of seven students to perform extramural rotations at Salud y Paz in Guatemala or Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The college has sent students to these sites for extramural rotations for several years.
“Each of these rotations offers different experiences for engagement in communities, and provides opportunities for students to deliver culturally-competent care to diverse and underserved populations,” said Dr. Caswell Evans, Associate Dean for Prevention and Public Health Sciences.
The students are Mohammad Moein Azimi, Matthew Bernard, Michael Boyle, Denise Clare, Nikhil Patel, Tyler Ramir, and Gabija Revis.
Salud y Paz includes the Susanna Wesley School for Mayan children in preschool and first grade. College of Dentistry students provide oral healthcare to approximately 50 youngsters. At Muhimbili University, College of Dentistry students rotate through all of the university’s specialty dental clinics, providing care alongside local students and faculty, and they work with dental therapists to provide oral health education and care to local residents.
In a previous year, a College of Dentistry student who went to Salud y Paz wrote, “It was a very humbling experience. Things that I am used to back in the United States were not always readily available. It made me realize how much is given, and how blessed I truly am.”
A student whose rotation was in Muhimbili wrote, “I have been left with a better understanding of the world outside my own, a greater appreciation for all that I have, and a new outlook that encourages me to live life in the moment.”
Accepting the check from Dr. Susan Bishop of the ICD were Janelle Wade, Program Coordinator: Dr. Patrick Smith, Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of Prevention and Public Health Sciences; Evans; and Khatija Noorullah, Clinical Community Academic Manager, all of whom thanked Bishop for the ICD’s generosity.
Photo caption: Accepting a grant check from Dr. Susan Bishop (2nd from right) of the ICD were Janelle Wade, Dr. Patrick Smith, Dr. Caswell Evans, and Khatija Noorullah.