Nearly Three Decades of GMER: Training Medical Students Since 1998

Pictured above: Passy Nabongho, a Ugandan medical student, who traveled to Minnesota as part of the GMER program

Phillip Peterson, MD, traveled to South Korea as a fourth-year medical student at Columbia in 1970. The experience changed his life.

“Nothing I did was more interesting in medical school than to participate in what was called their ‘medicine in the tropics program,’” said Peterson, Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility co-founder and professor emeritus at the UMN Medical School. 

“It was a remarkable experience.”   

The trip was a key reason Peterson, along with Paul Quie, MD, started what was then called the International Medical Education and Research Program in 1998. Nearly three decades later, the program’s name has changed, but its support for fourth-year medical students remains.

Today, the Global Medical Education and Research (GMER) program has evolved to include 13 international sites in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America UMN students can travel to. GMER has supported thousands of medical students since it began.

GMER is a CGHSR program that supports fourth-year UMN medical students. 

The program is an international exchange that allows UMN students to study medicine abroad, including sites in Uganda, India, Japan, Thailand, Ireland, Costa Rica, Chile and Mexico.

GMER also hosts students from international locations. In 2025, 30 UMN students traveled to 14 different countries through the program, while the university hosted 19 visiting students from six countries.

These immersive, experiential opportunities prepare students for careers in medicine while also elevating their cultural awareness. 

“You see how other cultures deal with health issues and health care. It’s a tremendous learning experience, and that’s what it boils down to — it’s a life-changing experience,” said Peterson.

“Hands-On Experience”

GMER doesn’t only provide students with insights into different cultures and health care systems – it also offers an opportunity to shadow experienced physicians and get a sense of a doctor’s day-to-day routine.

Passy Nabongho, a Ugandan medical student, traveled to Minnesota as part of the GMER program in 2025. He went through rotations in pulmonology, gastroenterology and infectious diseases.

“It’s a hands-on experience where you get to interact with patients, you get to look through their charts, take histories from them, present to their attending, give your management plan and get feedback from the attendings on how you can improve,” he said.  

For UMN students, learning from physicians in other parts of the world provides insights not only into clinical practice, but also cultural nuance and ethical considerations attached to global health engagement.

One UMN student, who traveled to Uganda, spoke of the important role sustainability plays in global health.

“This experience has fueled my passion and desire to participate in global health. By being at the site for a prolonged period of time, I had the reflection that I am not satisfied by just coming into a global site for a quick period to do work and leave,” they said.

“The idea and potential of helping build infrastructure and laying the groundwork for long-term improvement is more exciting than a short humanitarian mission.”

Meeting a Need for International Education

GMER has supported medical students who have gone on to practice in Minnesota and abroad. Shannon Benson, the program’s student coordinator, is always excited to see former students become faculty members at the U.

“It’s so fun to start the planning process with these students, listening to their goals and helping them achieve them through this opportunity,” said Benson. 

“Developing these relationships and getting to know the students over their four-year medical education career is something I really take pride in.”

Peterson points out that the students deserve credit for the program’s inception, too.

“The creation of GMER was really driven by the realization that students wanted, and, in fact, needed, in this global village, education about international medicine,” he said.

“The enthusiasm from the students has remained, which is really good news.”

Learn more about the GMER Program 

Medical students interested in participating in the GMER program should contact Shannon Benson