PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT:

Public Health in Brazil

featuring des moines university, UNAERP and fleximedical

In partnership with Fleximedical and Des Moines University, we developed the Public Health in Brazil program

We welcomed 13 students from the United States and Brazil to work virtually with Fleximedical and help improve their business operations. During the internship experience, students had meetings three times a week with the organization, attended mentoring sessions with the academic advisor and had classes to enrich their experience, such as learning about the Brazilian health care system and collaborative work in multicultural teams.

THE SOLUTION

Students were divided in groups to find a solution to Fleximedical's requests while working on overcoming the challenges of the virtual multicultural environment.

This virtual internship program took place from February 2021 through March 2021 and involved students from two different universities, but with similar backgrounds. We welcomed Master students from the Health Care Administration and Public Health programs from Des Moines University, as well as Medicine students from Universidade de Ribeirão Preto, in Brazil.

Sondra Schreiber

Director of Global Health, Des Moines University

” Six DMU students – four in the MHA program and two in the MPH program – participated in a 4-week virtual internship with Fleximedical along with medical students from Universidade de Ribeirão Preto. The students were divided into two groups with one group working on the creation of an electronic dashboard and the other on an institutional deck. Students gained valuable intercultural and interprofessional experience from these projects and produced deliverables that will be useful to Fleximedical in the future. At the end of the four weeks, the students presented their final products via Zoom. This was our first time working with Campus b and everything went very well! I was impressed with the organization of the program, the excellent communication and support for the students throughout the process. We are looking forward to future collaborations with Campus b.”

Ricardo Lauricella

Project Manager, Fleximedical

The invitation to participate in the exchange day on Public Health, with Campus B, was a gift for us, at Fleximedical, in a year that we are growing exponentially due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With so many urgencies to create our health solutions, such as Carts, Vans and Health Containers to help mitigate the negative impacts of covid with CT scans, screening and testing against the virus, it left us with no time to focus on governance and improve our Business Intelligence. The vision and interdisciplinarity of the group of students who chose to participate in this project with us brought rapid gains and, at the end of the program, we have already implemented the work produced. It was extremely productive and efficient.

We believe in partnerships like this. They help us in our purpose to democratize access to health.

At the end of the program, students presented their results to Fleximedical and concluded the experience having gained business intelligence skills, expanded their knowledge researching about a different health care system and had the chance to have a real impact on the organization’s mission: inclusion and sustainability.

Project-based learning
with a real company

Immersive learning experience

Small diverse teams

"The exchange of knowledge with students from another country was a unique experience that added a lot of value to the program. The mentoring provided us with great knowledge in the area of health. Getting to know Fleximedical, being able to participate in this innovative and social project, which aims to increase access to health for the population through mobile units, has made us, above all, better human beings."

Connections

The groups worked closely with the company and were able to have a look at how the business administration works and had the opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired at DMU and UNAERP to real Fleximedical projects, while learning about Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS), its challenges and how Fleximedical is helping to provide access to those in need.

Through this international networking everyone involved was able to exchange experiences and get out of that experience having added in several aspects of their lives.

“I faced great challenges such as working together with people of other nationalities. I expanded my knowledge of the health system not only in Brazil, but in North America and other countries, in addition to making us think about solutions for health not only in Brazil but also outside it. I had the unique opportunity to meet such a serious company, Fleximedical, as well as to meet wonderful people and to improve my English vocabulary in the health area. It was an honor and a pleasure to be part of this project.”

“I loved the project, it was a great experience; getting to know Fleximedical and working with people from different areas of research was incredible. Working with people from another country added a lot to the experience, I was able to learn about the healthcare system in the USA and we Brazilians were able to share some of our knowledge about the healthcare system in Brazil. Bringing ideas for the construction of the project and brainstorming in another language and with different opinions, both in terms of knowledge and cultural issues, was an incredible experience.”

Our passion in the academic ﬁeld has given us the privilege of actively collaborating with more than 80 universities, offering professional and extracurricular experience journeys directly impacting more than 4000 students.

Written by:

Gabriela Vanzelli

Program Manager at Campus b

Share this article on:

to go beyond

Navigate here:

Rua Helena, 140 cj 103

São Paulo – SP – Brazil, 04552-050

+ 55 11 2679 0555