On Saturday, October 17, we joined the UC Davis pre-health community for a day of conversations about healthcare careers and learning abroad. International Medical Aid participated in the morning Pre-Health Fair and hosted an afternoon workshop on the responsibilities that come with an international clinical experience.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth, picked up program information or joined us in the classroom. We appreciated the opportunity to meet you and introduce the people, preparation and educational goals behind IMA’s programs.
Meeting Students at the Pre-Health Fair
The 2026 conference program scheduled the Pre-Health Fair on Hutchison Field from 9 a.m. to noon. Our outdoor booth gave attendees a place to meet IMA representatives, review printed materials and ask about international healthcare internships.
The photographs from the fair capture those exchanges: attendees holding program materials, conversations at the table and our team alongside the conference backdrop. We were glad to put faces to the information students may first encounter online.
A conference also gives you a chance to compare opportunities while the details are fresh. If you took home IMA materials, keep them with the questions you still want answered. Your interests, educational stage and available dates are useful starting points for a follow-up conversation.
Bringing Ethics Into the Classroom
That afternoon, we presented “Ethics, Culture, and Care: Responsible Approaches to International Clinical Internships” in TLC 1010. The official workshop schedule placed the session from 2 to 2:45 p.m.
Our focus was on preparing students to enter another healthcare setting with clear expectations. The workshop addressed cultural awareness, appropriate student roles, privacy, supervision and working respectfully with local healthcare teams. It also included alumni discussion, adding a participant perspective to the program information.
For us, these subjects belong at the beginning of any conversation about clinical experience abroad. Before you choose a destination, you should understand what you will be allowed to do, who will guide your learning and how the experience fits your current preparation.
Making Student Responsibilities Clear
One of the themes we brought to UC Davis was the importance of understanding your role. Learning in a clinical setting requires attention to the people receiving care and respect for the professionals responsible for them.
Our pre-med internships abroad include physician shadowing, educational sessions and supervised learning activities. Premedical students observe and learn; they do not diagnose patients, prescribe treatment or perform procedures. That distinction should be clear before an internship begins and when students describe their experience afterward.
Careful observation still offers much to consider. How does a clinician explain a decision? How do members of a care team share information? What questions arise when a patient has difficulty returning for a follow-up visit? A mentor can help students understand the context behind what they observe.
The same care applies to privacy. A reflection can describe what a student learned without including details that identify a patient.
Learning From Local Teams and Alumni
The workshop also emphasized listening to the people who know the clinical setting and community. An unfamiliar practice may raise questions, but a brief observation cannot explain every factor behind it. Asking respectfully and recognizing the limits of your understanding are part of being a prepared learner.
Alumni discussion was another part of the session. Hearing from people who have participated in a program gives prospective students a different kind of context alongside schedules and program descriptions. It creates room to consider preparation, expectations and the questions that can emerge during an experience.
We encourage you to keep asking those questions as you plan. If you attended the workshop and thought of something afterward, our team is available to continue the conversation.
Planning for Winter, Spring and Summer 2027
Applications are open for IMA’s Winter, Spring and Summer 2027 programs. If the conference prompted you to consider an international experience, start with our program overview and Program Dates and Fees.
Review the program structure alongside your academic calendar and budget. Then contact IMA with questions about the options that match your background and interests. You can also bring that information to your pre-health adviser as you consider how an internship would fit your wider preparation.
A November 1 Deadline for Eligible Conference Attendees
Attendees who registered with IMA at the conference may be considered for fully funded scholarships valued at up to $12,000, including airfare, for Winter, Spring or Summer 2027 programs.
To qualify for this conference offer, you must have registered with IMA at the event, submit your program application by November 1, 2026, successfully complete the admissions process and be accepted into a program. Applicants who are already admitted or enrolled are not eligible for this conference-specific offer. Awards depend on available funding and are not guaranteed.
This opportunity is separate from IMA’s standard merit-based scholarship consideration. Admitted candidates are automatically considered for standard merit-based awards without a separate scholarship application, subject to available funding. If you are unsure which opportunity applies to you, contact our team before the deadline.
Thank You to the UC Davis Pre-Health Community
We thank the conference organizers, volunteers and attendees for welcoming IMA to this year’s event. From the fair on Hutchison Field to the workshop in TLC 1010, we appreciated the opportunity to contribute to conversations about preparing for a healthcare career.
We look forward to staying in touch and helping you understand your options for the year ahead.
Conference Photo Gallery
The Conference Workshop
