The Dartmouth Program in Global Emergency Care prepares residents to deliver high-quality emergency care across diverse clinical, cultural, and resource environments. Grounded in the principles of equitable access, systems thinking, and adaptive practice, the program helps residents develop a broader understanding of emergency care delivery both locally and globally.
The curriculum is built on a tiered model that provides all residents with foundational exposure to global emergency care concepts, including health systems, resource-variable practice, social determinants of health, tropical and emerging infectious diseases, and culturally responsive care. Residents seeking deeper engagement may participate in domestic or international electives and pursue the Global Emergency Care Track, a longitudinal program offering structured mentorship, scholarship, leadership development, and advanced experiential learning.
A distinguishing feature of the program is its focus on the shared challenges and opportunities found in both global and rural emergency care. Residents learn how principles of adaptive practice, resource stewardship, systems thinking, and community engagement can be applied to improve emergency care across diverse settings, from rural New England to international environments.
To view information on program faculty, please visit the Global Health faculty page.
Global partnerships
Dartmouth Emergency Medicine has cultivated a longstanding, bidirectional partnership with the Emergency Medicine residency program at Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences in Bhutan. Despite being separated by geography, the two programs share many common characteristics, including training within small residency programs based at tertiary referral centers serving large rural populations with significant transport challenges.
The Dartmouth–Bhutan collaboration was established to support resident education, scholarly exchange, collaborative training, and mutual learning. Through resident and faculty exchanges, joint educational activities, and shared scholarship, the partnership seeks to strengthen emergency care capacity while fostering enduring professional relationships and cross-cultural understanding.
Elective opportunities
Residents have the opportunity to participate in a variety of domestic and international elective experiences in resource-variable and underserved settings. Current opportunities include Bhutan, Indian Health Service sites, and selected partner programs through collaborating academic institutions. These experiences allow residents to broaden their clinical perspective, gain exposure to different health systems, and develop skills applicable to emergency care practice across a wide range of environments.
Bhutan
The Bhutan clinical and teaching elective involves traveling to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, accompanied by a Dartmouth faculty member, and working in the Emergency Department of the National Referral Hospital with the Bhutan emergency medicine residency program. This provides immersive exposure to different clinical environments and bidirectional sharing of clinical knowledge and perspectives.
View an article on our Bhutan collaboration
Indian Health Service
Dartmouth Emergency Medicine residents have the opportunity to complete elective rotations at Indian Health Service sites, including prior placements in Tuba City, Arizona, and Shiprock, New Mexico.
These rotations offer a unique clinical experience in underserved and resource-variable settings, exposing residents to diverse patient populations and health system contexts. Through this work, residents deepen their understanding of the breadth of emergency medicine practice and the role of emergency care across different care environments.
Vietnam
Dartmouth Emergency Medicine residents have the opportunity to participate in the annual Vietnamese Society for Emergency Medicine and Critical Care conference, held each fall in a different city across Vietnam.
Residents contribute in a variety of roles, including delivering didactic lectures, leading hands-on workshops, teaching in medical student sessions, and participating in symposia alongside Vietnamese physicians, residents, and students.
This collaboration is part of a sustained partnership focused on education and capacity building, supporting the long-term goal of locally led and independently run programming.
Other
Beyond these established opportunities, residents may explore additional experiences through the academic, clinical, and global networks of Dartmouth Emergency Medicine faculty. Electives are designed to broaden clinical perspective, deepen understanding of healthcare systems, and support individual interests in global, rural, and underserved emergency care.
Help prepare the next generation of emergency physicians through education, mentorship, and global and rural clinical experiences.