Global Women's Health Fellowship

Program Overview

The global women’s health fellowship is to provides high quality patient care to women worldwide along with paradigm changing research programs and superior educational opportunities for health care providers in low resource settings. Our two-year fellowship focuses on conditions such as maternal mortality, obstetric fistula, preterm birth, neglected tropical diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, malnutrition and others that impact the health and well-being of women worldwide. Fellows will spend about 80 percent of their time living and working in Malawi with supervision by Baylor College of Medicine faculty and other experts in global women’s health.

The first year of fellowship will include stateside training for fellows in research design and statistical analysis. This structure program, in combination with the availability of research mentors who have a proven record of collaboration with clinicians at Baylor, will allow fellows to develop research projects and gain the knowledge necessary to conduct research internationally.

Additionally, fellows will take an eight-week, intensive program at the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Our school is the first in the United States committed solely to addressing the world’s most pressing tropical disease issues. Completion of this program will prepare fellows to sit for the CTropMed®-Certificate of Knowledge in Clinical Tropical Medicine and Travelers' Health.

On-Site in Malawi

Fellows will live and work in Malawi during the majority of their fellowship. They will participate in all activities of the Baylor Global Women’s Health program including intensive clinical activities, teaching of students, interns, residents and others, as well as research projects under the supervision of Baylor faculty. Currently, fellows are working at the Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) which is the teaching and referring hospital for the central region of Malawi.

Opportunities are also there for working in the obstetric fistula center of excellence run by the Freedom from Fistula Foundation. KCH is one of two hospitals in Malawi that host the country’s only post-graduate residency training program in Obstetrics and Gynecology. The fellows will play an active role in the training and supervision of residents.

Research opportunities in Malawi in women’s health abound. We have a number of ongoing projects in global women’s health. There are also programmatic activities linked with the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology as well as a number of NGO and international partners.

Admissions

All graduates of U.S. accredited or osteopathic medical schools that have successfully completed a four-year ACGME residency program in Obstetrics and Gynecology are invited to apply to our Global Women's Health fellowship program. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents in good standing and eligible for a medical license in the state of Texas.

The following documents are required to support your fellowship application:

  • A minimum of three letters of recommendation, one letter must be from the residency program director
  • Current curriculum vitae
  • Copy of medical school diploma
  • Personal statement of career goals, with discussion of how you plan to use this training
  • Original or copy of USMLE transcript
  • CREOG Score Report for all years of residency to date
  • Copy of ACGME OPLOG Report or surgical experience log for all years of residency to date

Application packets are acceptable and can be submitted directly via email to Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Education Office, Attn: Melissa Jones (melissaj@bcm.edu) or obgyneducation@bcm.edu. Qualified candidates will be contacted via email by the fellowship manager to arrange an interview.

Recruitment for the August 2026 start is ongoing. Applications are due Sept. 1. Interviews are typically held in September/October with final decisions for fellowship selection in October/November.

Curriculum

Lectures given to the fellows to orient them to working in Malawi are given by the faculty working on the ground in Malawi. The following is a list of lecture topics:

  • Medical Chichewa
  • The Historical context of Women’s health in Malawi - Dr. Ron Mataya
  • Crash course in OB/GYN in Malawi: medications, terminology, etc. - 2nd-Year fellow
  • Orientation to KCH-practical information and explanations of the various roles/individuals - Dr. Isadore Yama
  • Antenatal care in Malawi - Rose Rajab, Nurse Midwife
  • Management of Malaria in Pregnancy - Dr. Bekari Rajab
  • HIV in pregnancy and delivery - Dr. Ibe Iwuh
  • TB in pregnancy and delivery - Dr. Ibe Iwuh
  • Postpartum Cardiomyopathy vs. Rheumatic Heart vs Pre-eclampsia and other peripartum complications - Dr. Kelli Barbour
  • Obstetric Fistula and Orientation to the Fistula Center
  • Global Health and Ethics - Dr. Jeff Wilkinson

The National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine is the first school in the United States solely committed to addressing the world's most pressing tropical disease issues. The course is accredited by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. With this accreditation, participants who complete the course are eligible to apply for the ASTMH Certificate of Knowledge Examination (provided additional examination application criteria are met). This examination assesses and recognizes individual excellence in training and knowledge in clinical tropical medicine and travelers' health. Passing this examination leads to the highly regarded CTropMed®-Certificate of Knowledge in Clinical Tropical Medicine and Travelers' Health. Completion of this program will prepare health care professionals to sit for the CTropMed®-Certificate of Knowledge in Clinical Tropical Medicine and Travelers' Health.

All fellows will be required to take the eight-week highly intensive program consisting of four two-week modules offered each winter session (January-February) and Summer Session (June-July). Additionally, a minimum of two months international clinical experience in a developing country is required to complete a Diploma in Tropical Medicine.

The program can be individualized by taking fewer than four modules per session. However, to earn the diploma all four modules must be successfully completed within three years from the completion of the initial module.

This program is Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

  • Module 1: Epidemiology, Public Health and Health Systems
  • Module 2: Virology, Vaccines, and Bacteria I
  • Module 3: HIV, Mycology, Parasitology, and Bacteria II
  • Module 4: Clinical Syndrome and Travelers’ Health; Nutrition, MTC Health, and Other Specialties
global-womens-health-surgical-team

Life Saving Procedures

The fistula surgical team performs operation procedures for the Malawian people.

Scene from Lake Malawi

Scene from Lake Malawi

A photo of Lake Malawi taken by a Global Women's Health team member. Malawi, Africa is primary location of where Baylor College of Medicine, Global Women's Health fellows train.