Northwestern Graduate’s Internship at World Health Organization Leads to Staff Position
Additional WHO Internships Now Available to Chiropractic Students
Posted on Dec. 9, 2008
Molly Meri Robinson, DC, a November 2007 graduate of Northwestern, served as the first doctor of chiropractic in an internship program at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. The position was established after a push from outside organizations to have a chiropractic representative at the organization. Dr. Robinson completed a three-month position from March 10 to June 6, 2008, and was offered a staff position, which will start in January, 2009.
Dr. Robinson gained international experience as the national legislative chair in the Student American Chiropractic Association (SACA), and the regional representative for eastern North America in the World Congress of Chiropractic Students (WCCS). She was also actively involved in the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC). When approached about applying for the position, she says it was hardly even a choice; she felt that the program chose her. “Working to promote and support the chiropractic profession and patient access to care has been a primary focus of mine for several years, and moving on to the WHO was the next great step,” she said.
Dr. Robinson’s particular internship in the Traditional Medicine Program was very research and editing based. She did a lot of revising of press releases, announcements and Power Point presentations. A significant portion of time was spent in the creation of informational documents about the variety of non-pharmaceutical based health care practices recognized by WHO and also about the WHO Congress on Traditional Medicine, which took place in Beijing, China, in November 2008.
Each program within WHO chooses the number of interns they feel is necessary or desirable for each project. According to Dr. Robinson, in 2008 the Traditional Medicine Program took a total of four interns from the thousands of applications they received from around the world. The application consists of at minimum, a resume, transcripts, letters of recommendation, and a letter of motivation. Some positions require additional criteria, and selection is based on the information provided by the applicant.
Some of the interns are there for as short a time as six weeks. The Traditional Medicine Program requires a minimum of 12 weeks from interns, although in certain situations, interns may be asked to extend their internship for up to 24 weeks. “We chose not to extend my internship, but instead I was offered a staff position in the department,” Dr. Robinson explains. “The position I return to in January will be very different, as I will be a staff member working on specific chiropractic-based projects.”
All internships are voluntary, and the intern is responsible for all expenses, including food, travel, and accommodations. Interns are responsible for making all of their own arrangements. “The costs were significant, and I am grateful to the many sponsors who provided funds to make it possible,” Dr. Robinson says. Northwestern, many organizations, and several individual donors stepped forward to help her in this venture. “With their support, I bought a plane ticket and started visiting apartments available for sublease,” she notes.
Dr. Robinson says whether a person should intern internationally in a policy position such as at WHO would depend entirely upon what their goals are. A position like this one requires a significant prior understanding of international chiropractic policy. “Interns need to be willing to learn more about how we fit into the rest of the world, and understand what the goals for our profession are,” she says. “Furthermore, an individual must be willing to create relationships and work with other national and international organizations to unify the efforts in this area.”
Although there are no internships at WHO specifically reserved for chiropractors this year, the progress is that now chiropractors are eligible to submit applications to the general intern pool. Dr. Robinson hopes to personally take up to six interns, in addition to any others the Traditional Medicine Program may take. Given that the projects Dr. Robinson is working on are chiropractic-based, it is likely that chiropractic students will be more appropriately suited for the work to be done. Northwestern students interested in applying for an internship at WHO should visit the website at http://www.who.int/employment/internship/en/, and follow instructions on how to apply.
Dr. Robinson noted that an internship such as this one is not likely to further an individual in private practice, and should not be pursued with a specific agenda. “It’s important to be open-minded and to think globally,” she says. “If an individual desires to do something amazing and meaningful for the chiropractic profession, and is willing to make the sacrifices that a position like this would require, both personal and financial, then I would definitely recommend serious consideration of pursuing a position as a WHO intern.”
“The reception I have had, both within the chiropractic community and the larger health care arena, has been incredibly supportive and gives hope that the true global integration and acceptance of chiropractic health care might be closer than we could have imagined,” Dr. Robinson says.