Global Health Media Fellowship

The need for trusted sources of medical information has never been greater. In order to overcome medical misinformation, the world needs more physicians who are also versed in journalism and communication.

Each year, one fellow is chosen from a pool of students enrolled in U.S. medical institutions committed to a career in global health (candidates do not have to be from Stanford). This opportunity provides medical students with 12 months of practical training in the fundamentals of journalism, communications, and global health reporting on a variety of media platforms, including print, online, broadcast, and social and digital media.

Applications are closed for the 2023-24 fellowship and will open for the 2024-25 fellowship in December 2023.

Program Overview

We launched the first U.S. Fellowship in Media and Global Health to teach physicians-in-training to use various media channels to advocate and inform on global health issues. The selected fellow learns how reporting on global health issues can impact health and human rights efforts, foundation and government health assistance, and individual health choices.

This opportunity provides medical students with 12 months of practical training in the fundamentals of journalism, communications, and global health reporting on a variety of media platforms, including print, online, broadcast, social and digital media.

Each fellow participates in three rotations over the course of their fellowship year.  The fellow spends the fall quarter (September through December) on campus taking courses in Stanford’s Graduate Program in Journalism. In the winter, the fellow is embedded at CNN in Atlanta with Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s health reporting team to learn the fundamentals of health reporting and gain hands-on experience. In late spring, the fellow conducts a capstone project based on their interests and focused on developing the skills they most wish to hone to improve their global health storytelling and mass communication capabilities.

A modest travel stipend is awarded in addition to the fellowship stipend. Fellows receive a stipend from CNN during their internship portion.

Eligibility

This fellowship is only available to current allopathic medical students; the fellowship is not open to residents. Applicants must be currently enrolled in medical school at an institution in the United States in order to be considered.  Fourth-year medical students interested in applying can opt to delay their residency and do a fifth year of medical school in order to be eligible.

Timeline

Applications for the 2024-25 Global Health Media Fellowship will open in mid-December, 2023. The window to submit applications closes at the end of January. Finalists will be contacted and interviewed in late February and March. A fellow is typically selected by mid-late March. The fellowship begins September 2024 and runs through the following July.

Goals and Objective

We want to grow the audience for global health stories and we want to make sure the stories that are told are accurate. To help physicians engage with journalists, we designed this program to teach fellows:

• How journalists and TV medical correspondents select and frame topics, stories, and issues in the field of global health;
• Techniques to present and write persuasively about science;
• How to access new channels and technologies for persuasive communication.

Upon completion, the Fellow will produce an in-depth article or other substantive media creation on a global health topic .

The Fellow will return to medical training with the expectation that in addition to treating patients, conducting research or teaching, she or he will also become an advocate and spokesperson for global health issues

Frequently Asked Questions

We address commonly asked questions here.

Questions

If you have questions, please email Communications Manager Jamie Hansen at jmhansen@stanford.edu.

Global Health Storytelling Advocacy Through Journalism: Webinar presented by Tasnim Ahmed

In this American Academy of Pediatrics webinar, 2021-22 Global Health Media Fellow Tasnim Ahmed shares lessons and insights gained through her fellowship with Stanford Journalism and CNN Health, about Global Health storytelling and advocacy through journalism.

Previous Fellows

• 2011-12: Joyce Ho, Stanford medical student
• 2012-13: Kristina Krohn, MD, resident at the University of Minnesota
• 2013-14: Hayley Goldbach, University of Pennsylvania medical student
• 2014-15: Maren Shapiro, University of Pennsylvania medical student
• 2015-16: Michael Nedelman, Stanford medical student
• 2016-17: Priya Raja, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center medical student
• 2017-18: Mark Lieber, University of California, Irvine medical student
• 2018-19: Edith Bracho-Sanchez, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia pediatric resident
• 2019-20: Gina Yu, University of Michigan medical student
• 2020-21: Christopher Rios, Stanford medical student
• 2021-22: Tasnim Ahmed, Stanford medical student
• 2022-23: Janelle Chavez, Stanford Medical Student
• 2023-24: Mira Cheng, Stanford Medical Student