Atlantis

The Atlantis Project allowed me to shadow doctors in a variety of specialties. Every week I switched specialties. Personally I shadowed a hematologist, a thoracic surgeon, a nephrologist and an ophthalmologist. While shadowing, I was allowed to be present when the doctor consulted patients, was even allowed to scrub in with the surgeons and observe the surgeries they performed that day. The doctors' english was not always great but they always tried to explain the procedures they performed. The residents were very friendly as well. We were also able to hold english language classes for the hospital staff. Outside of the hospital we were able explore the city, spanish cuisine and enjoy the beach. With the whole group we were able to visit surrounding cities, go on multiple hikes and experience many touristic events.

Any type of study abroad experience will undoubtedly leave a student enchanted by the idea that various aspects of life are so vastly different from what he or she may be used to in their native country. Apart from being intrigued by the community and culture in Gran Canaria, I was taken aback by the lifestyle I was exposed to within the healthcare system in Spain. The doctors are different people than the doctors one would find in the United States, in some ways for the better and some ways not. On a whole, I appreciated very much the humble and dedicated way in which the Canarian doctors taught us what was going on in our assigned specialities, how to do certain things, and how to act in particular situations. I will never forget the invaluable shadowing experiences I learned from, nor the advice the surgeons I met gave me for living life as a whole as I take the next steps to becoming a doctor in American medicine.

The Atlantis Project was a program that I stumbled across on Facebook. Immediately, I went to the website and applied. I was accepted and then my summer unfolded. The Atlantis Project changed my life. It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience. I had never heard of the Azores Islands before the Atlantis Project and I think that was one of the biggest draws to the Islands. Once we were on the island, we explored over 80% of it as well as spent over 125 hours in the hospital. I was able to observe operations in the operating room, round on patients, and get to experience everyday doctor life. When we finished at the hospital, we always had a fun activity to attend to. Whether it was visiting a 16th century military fort or hiking through a forest, there was never a dull moment on the island. I feel like I was completely immersed in the culture and was able to experience what medicine in a different country was like. It was fascinating to be able to compare medicine in America to medicine in another country. I would do it all again in a heart beat.