An affiliate of the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine, the Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency Program provides medical students in their third and fourth years with the opportunity to work alongside experienced doctors. Through its affiliation with VCU, the Shenandoah Valley Family Practice Residency Program also offers opportunities for global medicine experiences, including multiple trips to clinics in Honduras. Residents who take the fall trips work alongside VCU students participating in the university’s Honduras Outreach Medical Brigada Relief Effort (HOMBRE).

2.  An affiliate of the Virginia Commonwealth University
(VCU) School of Medicine, the Shenandoah Valley
Family Practice Residency Program provides medical
students in their third and fourth years with the
opportunity to work alongside experienced doctors.
Through its affiliation with VCU, the Shenandoah
Valley Family Practice Residency Program also offers
opportunities for global medicine experiences,
including multiple trips to clinics in Honduras.
Residents who take the fall trips work alongside VCU
students participating in the university’s Honduras
Outreach Medical Brigada Relief Effort (HOMBRE).

3.  In 2000, a group of first-year VCU students established
HOMBRE with the mission of providing medical care
to underserved communities in Honduras and other
developing countries. The group operates through a
core value system that emphasizes collaboration with
local communities and similar organizations, respect
for served communities, and fiscal responsibility to
demonstrate transparent accounting practices.
The annual Honduras trip is available to a small
selection of first-year medical students. To prepare for
the trip, students attend informational seminars about
the country’s history, culture, common medical
problems, and illnesses.

4.  During the trip, they experience firsthand the
conditions members of underserved
communities live in and treat as many as 300
patients each day. A 2:1 student-faculty ratio
provides the students with one-on-one
mentorship and instruction, an experience not
often present in a classroom or internship.
For more information about the HOMBRE
organization and VCU’s Honduras trips, visit the
university’s website at
MedSchool.vcu.edu/community/hombre.