Participants:

30 maximum. Targeted to physicians, nursing professionals, physician assistants, and public health professionals. Non-physicians should contact the Gorgas Institute prior to submitting a full application to assess the suitability of the course to their needs. Medical students are not accepted. Instruction is at the level of the general physician. The course is extremely intensive due to its short 9-week duration. Formal teaching is from 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM daily Monday-Friday and intensive study is required in the off-hours for those desiring to take the Diploma examination at the end of the course.

Tuition:

Tuition for 2009 and 2010 is $6,395 (US$) and includes flights within Perú and accomodation for the two 4-day field trips to the Andes and the Amazon.

Travel:

Participants are responsible for their own international flight arrangements. Pre- and post-course excursions are encouraged and easily arranged through many local Peruvian operators. Popular excursions include Machu Picchu, Amazon cruises, and Manú National Park. Due to the intense nature of the course, during course travel is difficult.

Accomodations:

Casa Andina Miraflores Centro: The Tropical Medicine Institute is located in a relatively unsafe, impoverished area of the city. Rooms are available at this recently renovated 3-star hotel in an upscale residential neighbourhood with bath/cable TV/internet/air-conditioning and restaurant. Direct transportation to and from the Tropical Medicine Institute each day by our bus at 7:00 each morning will be available only from in front of the Casa Andina Miraflores Centro. Estimated cost is $1500/month, single with breakfast, service, and taxes.

Outside Accomodations:

Local apartments for short-term lease are quite easily available for $400-1000 for a 2-3 bedroom apartment through the realtor we work with. These arrangements are difficult to arrange in advance (in other words, we can't do this for you prior to your physical arrival). No Gorgas participant has ever required more than 2-3 days to find an apartment after arrival. We, of course, can assist with negotiating with the owners in Spanish. Money can be saved if several compatible people share an apartment. Travel time to and from the bus pick up point must be added to long intensive days (bus leaves Hotel at 7:00 AM and gets back at about 5:30 PM). Modern supermarkets are easily accessible in Miraflores. We strongly suggest that everyone stay at the Casa Andina initially and then consider the options after arrival. Foreigners stand out as targets on public transportation so we advise those utilizing outside accomodations to find a place within walking distance of our own transportation pick-up point in Miraflores.

Security:

Crime in Lima is comparable to large US cities, but the housing will be in a low-crime upscale suburban area. Terrorist activity has ceased since the capture of the entire "Sendero Luminoso" leadership in 1992. Conflict between narcotics traffickers and the military continues, but only in areas well off our itinerary. The best indicator is that tourism to Perú has surged to all-time high levels in recent years.

Pre-/Post-course options:

1. Travel options through local Peruvian operators
2. Return to the IMT for a traditional elective (unstructured teaching) on the wards and in the clinic (in Spanish)
3. Spanish course in Lima

Spanish Classes:

Several formats are possible. For accompanying persons the cheapest option would be 2 hour classes that are held during the day every day at the Catholic University. If there are several people interested who are near the same level, we can arrange for a teacher to come to the hotel 2 or 3 nights per week for group lessons. Private lessons run about $30/hr. Due to the intense nature of the Gorgas Course, many previous participants have found it difficult to participate in evening Spanish classes during the course.

Travel Slides:

Participants are requested to bring PowerPoint presentations of previous trips to the developing world. Several social evenings are planned during the course where we will take turns showing our slides.

Spouses & Families:

We have several participants every year who bring family members for part or all of the course. Further logistical details are best discussed with us on a case by case basis.

Curriculum:

See our Curriculum web pages for further information, including calendars for the general format. For each day, the first 2 lectures listed will run from 8:00-10:00 AM and the last one listed from 3:00-4:30 PM. On most days clinical and laboratory sessions will run in-between. On those days when an extra session is listed it means the laboratory session has been cancelled for that day. Details of clinical and lab rotations will be supplied at the Course Orientation.

Syllabus:

A printed syllabus with general reference material will be distributed at the Course Orientation. 3-5 pages of notes and 5-10 key citations for each lecture will be distributed at the time of each session. A formatted pocket-size CaseBook for logging clinical details of all patients you see will be provided.

Learning Resource Center:

The center will be open evenings and weekends for reading or viewing videos or slides. Those staying after the van leaves back to the Casa Andina at 6:30 PM will have to take a taxi back. These are always available at the hospital and the ride should be about $6 which can be split between several people.

Further information:

Application Forms can be found here.

Further information regarding logistics and registration can be obtained through the following:

• Phone: (in the US) 800-UAB-MIST
• Phone: (from overseas) +1-205-934-1630
• Fax: +1-205-934-5600
• E-mail: info@gorgas.org