International Health Education
The Boston Children’s International Health Education program offers clinicians around the world the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in health care with in-person, virtual, and hybrid learning programs customized to meet the unique needs of international audiences. Observership programs require English language proficiency; simultaneous translation may be available for some of our group courses and programs.
Observership program
The observership program at Boston Children’s Hospital provides knowledge of best practices to improve pediatric care worldwide and promotes a collaborative environment for exchange of ideas. Observerships are informal learning experiences and do not constitute formal training or patient contact. They are offered to health care providers across a number of departments and can range from one week to 12 weeks, although most programs limit the duration to four weeks.
As part of the curriculum, observers may shadow clinical activities and procedures and attend daily rounds, lectures, seminars, and other interdisciplinary conferences occurring in the hospital.
Currently available programs:
- Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine
- Allergy and Immunology
- Cardiology
- Cardiovascular Surgery
- Critical Care Medicine
- Dentistry
- Developmental Medicine
- Endocrinology
- Gastroenterology
- General Surgery
- Genetics and Genomics
- Infectious Diseases
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Neurosurgery
- Newborn Medicine
- Nutrition (for dietitians)
- Ophthalmology
- Otolaryngology
- Plastic Surgery
- Pulmonary
- Rheumatology
- Simulator Program
- Urology
- and more
Eligibility
Participants of the observership program are generally:
- practicing clinicians with a specific pediatric subspecialty background of interest
- current trainees (i.e. residents or fellows with a demonstrated interest in a specific pediatric subspecialty
Our observership programs are not intended for medical students. We encourage medical students to apply to the Harvard Medical School Clerkship Program.
How to apply
After applying:
- Your application will be reviewed by both the International Health Education program and your desired clinical department.
- Our International Health Education team will reach out to you once the review of your application has been completed. This generally takes four to six weeks.
If your observership is approved, you will:
- receive a letter of acceptance with instructions on onboarding requirements
- need to obtain a visa (B1/B2 or ESTA). Boston Children’s does not sponsor visas
- be responsible for your travel and housing arrangements
The week prior to your start date, you will receive instructions via email on obtaining your Boston Children's ID badge and where to report to on your first day. You will not be able to obtain your ID prior to your start date. You will receive more details on your schedule on your first day.
After the program, observers will receive a certificate of participation and will be eligible to join the alumni network.
Questions? Contact the Observership Office at Observership.Program@childrens.harvard.edu.
Program highlight
Adrian Cheng New World Scholarship Program — China
Through the generous support of the New World Group Charity Foundation, 10 clinicians from China have been selected to receive a scholarship to spend up to 12 weeks in the Observership Program at Boston Children's. Candidates for the program demonstrate:
- a strong commitment to the improvement of pediatric healthcare in China
- a strong interest in learning best practices in pediatric medicine and healthcare leadership
- a vision for how they would take the knowledge gained at Boston Children's back to China.
The scholarship program is supported by Mr. Adrian Cheng, Executive Vice-chairman and General Manager of New World Development Company Limited. In 2017, 10 aspiring clinicians from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou were awarded scholarships to hone their clinical knowledge. They have completed the program successfully and transferred skills acquired at Boston Children's to their workplace, thus impacting pediatric healthcare in China. This page will be updated if more scholarships become available in the future. For additional information please email our office at Observership.Program@childrens.harvard.edu.
In-person and online customized seminars and courses for international audiences
Customized education programs are offered by request and tailored based on discipline and experience desired. Programs are generally requested by hospitals or organizations rather than individual requests. Programs generally focus on a particular clinical topic and provide attendees with an understanding of the Boston Children’s approach to pediatric health care. Participants will learn best practices to improve patient care practices through enhancement of training programs, development of evidence-based clinical care guidelines, and a culture of continuous improvement. In addition, participants have the opportunity to tour our facilities (virtually or in-person) and ask questions of Boston Children’s experts.
Customized executive education and leadership development
In the fast-moving world of medicine, health care leaders are challenged to stay informed and connected with the latest information, best practices, and effective strategies for managing their institutions. We invite teams of pediatric health care leaders to visit Boston Children’s to learn about our approach to governance, safety and quality, training and talent development, innovation, and more. Teams will learn about Boston Children's management and operations, including what goes on behind the scenes to support the clinical care and infrastructure required to run a high-quality pediatric institution. The curriculum can be tailored to include knowledge of best practices in clinical, research, education, and management with talks by Boston Children’s physicians, nurses, and administrative leaders.
To request a customized program, please email the Program Director of International Health Education at Cynthia.Garibaldi@childrens.harvard.edu.
Upcoming open enrollment programs including webinars, courses, and conferences
* — To be updated as announced
On-Demand 2022 Genetics Webinar Series
This program includes nine on-demand sessions covering a wide range of topics in genetics, including genetic counseling, dysmorphology, newborn screening, state-of-the-art management, and counseling practices as well as case studies. For fee information and registration, email our team.
* — All programs are updated as announced — email our team if you would like to send a group from your organization to one of the programs announced: InternationalBusiness@childrens.harvard.edu.