The Inspiration Center thanks you for your interest in our Student Elective Program! We offer multidisciplinary, clinical rotations for graduate students in Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy; Medical Residents, and Social Work. Your time with us will involve clinic visits, home visits, and hands-on practice. We serve children ages birth to 16 years old.
Our program is unique as it blends the Medical Model of Care with the Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Model of Care developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for developing countries.
Program Goals
- To prepare students with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes to succeed in a global context and environment through intercultural and interdisciplinary learning.
- To increase our outreach services to more Belizean children with disabilities and their families in rural settings.
- To make The Inspiration Center and its services sustainable for the future.
Programs to Achieve our Goals
- CLINICAL– Direct patient care including acute illness, therapeutic interventions, disease prevention and referrals in an outpatient clinical and community based settings.
- COMMUNITY– Outreach and education to urban and rural villages and towns in Northern, Central, Western and Southern Belize through home visits and mobile clinics, community education/activities using the community based rehabilitation (CBR) model of care embraced by the World Health Organization.
- EDUCATION– Transformative teaching of our students, and volunteers on how to practice in a resource challenged, culturally diverse setting.
ROTATION SCHEDULE
STUDENT ELECTIVE PROGRAM ROTATION SCHEDULE JAN – DEC 2024
| ROTATION # | START DATE | END DATE | NOTES |
| 1 | January 8, 2024 | February 2, 2024 | Full |
| 2 | February 5, 2024 | March 2, 2024 | Full |
| 3 | March 4, 2024 | March 29, 2024 | Full |
| 4 | April 1, 2024 | April 26, 2024 | Open slots |
| 5 | April 29, 2024 | May 24, 2024 | Open slots |
| 6 | May 27, 2024 | June, 21, 2024 | Open slots |
| 7 | June 24, 2024 | July 19, 2024 | Open slots |
| 8 | July 22, 2024 | August 16, 2024 | Open slots |
| 9 | August 19, 2024 | September 13, 2024 | Open slots |
| 10 | September 16, 2024 | October 11, 2024 | Open slots |
| 11 | October 14, 2024 | November, 8, 2024 | Open slots |
| 12 | November 11, 2024 | December 6, 2024 | Open slots |
STUDENT ELECTIVE PROGRAM ROTATION SCHEDULE JAN – DEC 2025
| ROTATION # | START DATE | END DATE | NOTES |
| 1 | January 6, 2025 | January 31, 2025 | Open slots |
| 2 | February 3, 2025 | February 28, 2025 | Open slots |
| 3 | March 3, 2025 | March 28, 2025 | Open slots |
| 4 | March 31, 2025 | April 25, 2025 | Open slots |
| 5 | April 28, 2025 | May 23, 2025 | Open slots |
| 6 | May 26, 2025 | June, 20, 2025 | Open slots |
| 7 | June 23, 2025 | July 18, 2025 | Open slots |
| 8 | July 21, 2025 | August 15, 2025 | Open slots |
| 9 | August 18, 2025 | September 12, 2025 | Open slots |
| 10 | September 15, 2025 | October 10, 2025 | Open slots |
| 11 | October 13, 2025 | November 7, 2025 | Open slots |
| 12 | November 10, 2025 | December 5, 2025 | Open slots |
HOW LONG IS A CLINICAL ROTATION?
Our Rotation length is 4 weeks. Students may also continue for 6, 8 and 12-week rotations.
WHO CAN APPLY?
Our Student elective program is open to medical residents, final year medical students, physician assistant students with previous clinical experience, and DPT Physical, OTD Occupational and MS Speech Therapy students from the United States or internationally equivalent programs. Social Work students near the completion of their Bachelor’s degree from the University of Belize are also eligible for this program. Fluency in written and spoken English is required. We do accept and encourage international students to apply. English is the official language in Belize.
WHAT WILL I EXPERIENCE?
- In country clinical rotations will include clinic visits, mobile clinics, home visits, community education and public health projects.
- You will gain knowledge of how to utilize limited resources to benefit children with disabilities
- You will also learn how to evaluate and treat a variety of pediatric diagnoses and interact with culturally diverse families.
THE INSPIRATION CENTER CURRICULUM INCLUDES FOUR PILLARS:
- Belizean Culture and Health Care System
- Global/Public Health and Social Determinants of Health
- Clinical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Resource limited regions
- Interdisciplinary learning through a cultural lens
Home Visits
Visit children in their homes with Rehabilitation Field Officers to maximize the child’s potential and advocate for participation and inclusion.
Mobile Clinics
In rural villages in a scheduled place, staff and students arrive to screen children with a variety of diagnoses and help families access local resources.
Community Education
Opportunities to educate the public, teachers and parents are part of the experience.
Community Outreach
Opportunities to participate in health fairs, in-school programs such as bullying, good touch, bad touch, wheelchair measurements and fittings, assistance with low-cost adaptive aids.
Clinic Visits
At our clinic, screenings, therapy and inter-professional learning occurs.
Cultural Immersion
Interact with diverse ethnic groups including but not limited to (Mayan, Ketchi, Garifuna, East Indian, Creole, Mennonite, and Mestizo)
I AM A STUDENT AND I AM INTERESTED. WHAT DO I DO NEXT?
If you are a student, kindly access the ‘fees and application form’ tab. Follow ups can be done via e-mail: sepcoordinator@inspirationcenter.bz
I AM A DCE PROVIDER AND I AM INTERESTED ABOUT SENDING MY STUDENTS TO THE INSPIRATION CENTER. WHAT DO I DO NEXT?
Contact sepcoordinator@inspirationcenter.bz to discuss this possibility and for more information. We would be glad to work with you.