Shadow Doctors in Spain w/ #1 Pre-Health Provider

Super scammy. If you are considering an Atlantis program, move forward with extreme caution. This company has a track record of removing authentic removes. Previously, in the comments section of a now-removed sponsored post on The PA Platform (https://rb.gy/n8c3o5), many ripped-off students and parents expressed their concerns about this program. Even a European-based staff member for Atlantis articulated how the company poorly treats its staff and makes fake promises to students. This company, also known as St Marys Institute for Educational Excellence, has an F rating from the Better Busines Bureau: https://www.bbb.org/us/va/arlington/profile/education/st-marys-institute-for-educational-excellence-0241-236017782/complaints According to this TikTok, the company is potentially facing a class action lawsuit from its previous students. Company deletes negative reviews, only leaving 7s here so this review doesn't get deleted.

I had an amazing experience shadowing in Mallorca, Spain. Each week, I shadowed for about 20 hours, and switched departments every week. I was able to see Dermatology, Orthopedic Surgery, Ophthalmology and Ophthalmologic Surgery, and Neurology. The physicians and other healthcare workers were dedicated to teaching and helping students learn about a profession they love. During my time there, I stayed in apartment style housing for students in suite-style apartment. The City Managers were always on-call to make sure that everything was going well and that everyone was safe. The weekends were open for traveling and exploring on your own. That type of travel independence is another important skill the program helps students develop in addition to language immersion and a wider view of what different types of healthcare systems have to offer.

In Summer 2022 I shadowed abroad in Vigo, Spain with Atlantis through the University of Florida and it was incredible ! After my first year of college , I decided that the business field did not capture everything I wanted so in 2020 I made the switch to the pre-med track. With Covid blooming I had a hard time finding shadowing opportunities due to safety and health concerns in hospitals. I resorted to virtual shadowing and learned all I could but I still wanted to have a in-person experience with physicians. My academic advisor brought to me the Atlantis shadow abroad in Spain and I jumped on the opportunity. In this experience I left the country for my first time and submerged myself in the Spanish culture. I always wanted to study abroad but it never worked with my schedule given all my pre-reqs. Atlantis allowed me to scratch that itch and be one-on-one to two-on-one with physicians in Spain. I went for four weeks and shadowed a different specialty every week ( ER, Neurology, ICU, Vascular Surgery) culminating a total of 96 hours. I got to see even more than those 4 specialties because the doctors would invite me to see more operations and consults. My experience opened my eyes to the various healthcare systems and has allowed me to better understand the different ways of approaching health. I LOVED my location and where I got to live. For my first time out of the country I felt safe and secure Las I explored the city. I got to connect with prehealth students and also network with the physicians I met by getting their emails and keeping up contact. As I apply for medical schools now in the US this experience is consistently one I bring up in explaining my journey and love for medicine. I have grown tremendously in understanding of the duties and responsibility of a doctor because of this experience !

Beautiful city, beautiful nature, wonderful food, wonderful hospital staff, the Atlantis program in Ferrol had it all! From the beaches to the forest to the restaurants and to the hospital, there was not one thing flawed! When going to Ferrol do not forget your sunscreen, hiking boots, and appetite for sea food. The beach at Domino's was the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. The hike in Las Fragas was extraordinary. The food in Ferrol was so delicious, my favorite by far were the zamburinas at the restaurant, La Cantina. Zamburinas can only be found in the coast of north western Spain, the region known as Galicia, which makes the eating of these zamburinas a must for any sea food lover. If I ever get the chance to travel to Spain again, I will most definitely have to stop by Galicia!

I have never traveled abroad before this trip so I was a bit scared to go away for the first time alone. I have to say that the three weeks that I spent in Rome was the best time I have ever had. I didn't want to leave. There was so many opportunities to explore the city. Everyday my group would walk around and get lost in Rome which is the best way to explore! I tried so many new foods and learned so much about the Italian culture and lifestyle. The site managers for our trip were the best that anyone could ask for! They showed us the best restaurants and took us on the most amazing excursions outside of Rome. The best part of this trip was being able to be in the hospital everyday and shadow doctors. Every department that I was assigned to was so nice and eager to help me learn. Getting an opportunity like this in the US would be near impossible. After this experience I am sure that the medical field is where I want to be. I have developed a new love for traveling abroad and I want to explore the world as much as I can while I am in school.

I loved the Atlantis fellowship because it gave me the opportunity to combine my interests in healthcare with my Spanish major to get a global perspective on some of the aspects of the healthcare system, and also allowed me to make connections through language and cultural immersion. I was able to learn so much from many of the hospital staff including the nurses and doctors, as well as more administrative people within staff. Atlantis gives a lot of independence within the program, and it is truly what you make of it. I was able to see a birth within the labor and delivery department and also some really interesting surgeries within General and Orthopedic surgery. I was also able to see doctors outside of consultations and surgeries, such as when they have meetings before going on rounds, and also during their breaks for breakfast, and it was really nice that I got to see them during their busy and relaxed days to get a better feel for how mixed their day-to-day work life is. Through the fellowship, I also volunteered at the local language school, and it was really fulfilling to have conversations with residents of Teruel in both English and Spanish. The weekend trip to Albarracin and Valencia was also a lot of fun and gave us a break from the week of hospital shadowing. Through this fellowship, I met some lifelong friends, and we still keep in touch after the fellowship, and they really made this experience one that I'll never forget! I think Atlantis could improve their pre-fellowship guidance. Once accepted into the program, the logistical information is not as clear as it could be, especially considering that it is a big commitment to go abroad for a few weeks. During the fellowship itself, everything went really smoothly especially with the help of our site manager, but before the fellowship, there were still a lot of details, especially regarding travel, that could have been made clearer.

I completed my shadowing in a hospital in Inca, Mallorca. It was a very beneficial and inspiring experience. I shadowed in the department of internal medicine during my first week and in the department of gastroenterology during the second week of the program. I gained a lot of experience during the shadowing hours, where I completed around 40 hours of rounds, clinic hours, endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures, and surgeries. The program opened my eyes into the world of healthcare and triggered my passion too become the best doctor I can be. I was able to form many professional relations with hospital staff, and made friends with the Fellows that were in the same program with me. I also learned a lot about the culture of Mallorca during the weekly excursions. The program is highly recommended for all pre-health students, and especially for people who are not sure if they want to pursue this job.

During summer of 2018, I spent three weeks in Mallorca Spain through the Atlantis Project. This program allowed me the opportunity to shadow doctors abroad, exposing me to a new culture and healthcare system. Shadowing abroad allowed me to interact with doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who were genuinely excited that I was there to shadow and wanted to teach me as much as possible. Throughout the three weeks, I shadowed doctors in Emergency Medicine, Gynecology, and General Surgery. Each week brought something new, and taught me more about the healthcare system in Spain. In addition to the doctors taking their time to explain consultations or other information, I was able to see various surgeries. During my time in General Surgery, I watched bowel reconstruction, a single mastectomy, and much more. Each week my love and passion for medicine grew and I knew I had made the right choice in both my career choice and shadowing with this program. In addition to growing as a pre-health professional, I was able to immerse myself in a new culture. During the weekends and evenings, I was able to travel to other areas within Mallorca and other Spanish cities. Overall, I highly recommend the Atlantis Project to any Pre-Health Professional to grow further within the medical field and as an individual.

This was a great opportunity to not only gain valuable shadowing experience but also a fantastic way to immerse myself in a completely new culture for 3 weeks. I was able to narrow down what I wanted to do in the future in the medical field and that would not have been possible if I didn't go. Anyone interested in the healthcare field should look into this program.

I was able to speak to doctors that ended up helping me beyond my expectations. This one Anesthesiologist I was shadowing knew doctors in the town I am from and gave me their numbers to shadow them when I got back from Spain. This was the first time I travelled and my site manager made me feel very safe. This was a relief to me because it relieved my stress and made me feel more comfortable with my time abroad. She would immediately answer all of our texts no matter what she was doing or what time it was. If anyone had the smallest problem for example, with the hotel room, she would not waste time in talking to the hotel staff and get all situations resolved. Many of us stayed in contact with her and maintain the friendship. She planned amazing excursions and would take us to the hospital everyday which made me feel very safe. The only thing I regret is not going on more excursions because the others did not want to and I did not want to go alone.

This experience is one I will remember for the rest of my life, and not even only for the fact that I was in another country. This was make or break for me. It gave me the clarity and certainty I needed to continue to pursue medicine. I lost my drive and my confidence, and this experience got it back to me.

This summer, I traveled to Ferrol, Spain, for a two week long shadowing experience that benefited me in the most successful of ways. Before going to Spain, I was timid in my accomplishments, because although I was doing well on a social level, my academics were shy of great. I questioned if going into medicine was really for me, because academically, I was not at the level I needed to be, and thought I would never be able to get to the success rate as some of my peers. However, while in Spain, I rediscovered myself. I realized that opportunities happen when you let them happen. I let myself embark on this two-week internship to learn more about healthcare, but came out learning more about myself. I talked with doctors that did not have the best grades, but still managed to become doctors. They reassured me that although academics are important, they are not the only qualification to be successful and obtain a white coat. This trip helped me rediscover myself, learning that I do have the potential to become a medical professional, and while there, gained a new level of determination to raise my GPA, and do better for myself and my future.

I completed a 4 week clinical shadowing in Ferrol, Spain. During my trip I shadowed Internal Medicine, Dermatology, Anesthesiology and Cardiology. Each week was a different specialty so I learned something new everyday. I saw everything from consultations to intense operations. It was the true experience of a life as a doctor. My fellowship had 2 different hospitals walking distance from each other where different specialties were held. I learned so much all of the doctors and improved my Spanish more than I could imagine. The Atlantis Fellowship has led me to confidently say that I want to doctor and be a change in the future health care.

The Atlantis fellowship really provides pre- med students the opportunity to gain AAMC approved shadowing hours (+20 a week) whilst simultaneously providing them the opportunity to do so abroad in a new and diverse environment, and to gain new experiences with like minded students. My Atlantis experience was sensational from the first day to the last. I was able to gain priceless experience in the medical fields of Neurology, Rheumatology, and Surgery and learn key concepts from the medical staff as i was shadowing. On top of that, the Atlantis staff really went out of their way to structure the program in a well organized fashion, and helped me along every step of the process, from my initial application, to making it to my host country, and the entire experience there. The activities that the program provided during the stay include group dinners every couple of days during the week, and group excursions during the weekends that really allowed for me and my Atlantis group to truly immerse ourselves in the history and culture of Huesca, Spain. Overall the experience was an amazing learning opportunity in a diverse and unique fashion, and i strongly recommend it to pre- med students that are looking for a way to get shadowing hours and develop their medical experience.

I did my fellowship in Calatayud, Spain. It being a small town with only one hospital it made it feel very personal, and like family. The doctors and nurses we worked with in the hospital were extremely passionate about teaching, and went above and beyond to make sure we were learning. I spent most of my time in the OR, watching and learning about different surgeries like c-sections, knee & hip replacements, cataracts, cancer removals, and more. I also got time in the emergency room, where everything is so hectic but the doctors still took time to explain everything, and pick your brain on different cases. And finally, I spent time in radiology where I was taught how to read scans, and learned more about anatomy there than in the classroom. Yet, the most life changing aspect was seeing most of the surgeons and nurses be women, which has inspired me tremendously. At the end of the fellowship we had become so close with the staff that we’ve exchanged emails with the director of the hospital to hopefully one day go back and practice medicine with them. It was definitely an experience that changed my life and that we don’t have access to as pre-med students here in the US.

The Atlantis fellowship I participated in took place in Pontevedra, Spain. A beautiful city where the feel of a small town gets a Spanish twist on life. The food was excellent and everything that I needed was within walking distance of the housing residence. In the Hospital, the doctors were charismatic, open to honest conversation, and really facilitated my learning and understanding of the procedures. If I had a question they would do their best to answer it in a way that made sense to me but didn't make me feel as if I should have known this. As a fellow, you do so much more than just watch procedures. You are fully immersed in the environment of the hospital and can see what your future could possibly look like. From inside the O.R., to filing paperwork, to getting coffee with your co-workers the doctors don't try to put on a show and make it perfect, they just show you what it is like to be in this environment which to me was one of the best takeaways I received from my Atlantis fellowship.

My fellowship in Cuenca, Ecuador with the Atlantis Project absolutely exceeded my expectations. I primarily applied for the program because I needed shadowing experience, but I was thrilled when I realized I would be able to do so in another country. With such strict pre-med requirements, it can be difficult for pre-med students to study abroad. I knew I would not be able to spend an entire semester elsewhere, I found this summer 5 week fellowship to be the perfect alternative. I spent at least two weeks of my program shadowing in the operating room, where I saw my first C section and neurosurgery. I also was given the opportunity to shadow a pediatrician, neurosurgeon, radiologist, gastroenterologist, and even visit the OB/GYN's private clinic. This program strengthened my desire to pursue medical school and become an OB/GYN. When not in the hospital, I practiced my Spanish with locals, volunteered at a daycare, and saw all the wonders that Ecuador has to offer. I would do the fellowship again in a heart beat!

I absolutely loved my experience with the Atlantis Project. I spent four weeks in Madrid, Spain, shadowing at a local hospital in Orthopedic Surgery, the Microbiology Lab, General Surgery, and in Neurology. Each week was so different from the last, and the doctors I was with taught me so much about their work. While I was shadowing, I also was able to learn more about the Spanish culture and way of life from the people I shadowed, and I learned so much about the European system of healthcare. Within the program, our site managers and Atlantis mentors were also extremely helpful. The Atlantis mentors are students who are recently accepted to medical school, or current medical students, and my mentors provided amazing help and insight regarding the application process. Everyone I met on the program wants to see you succeed, and I felt much more confident about my journey to medical school after completing this program. Would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in the healthcare field, even if you aren't necessarily pre-med!

Wow was this trip amazing! I spent 4 weeks in the prettiest little city on the coast of Spain, shadowing at a hospital which grew my medical knowledge massively. In those few short weeks I learned about public healthcare, gained insight on doctor-patient relationships, and furthered my confidence in the medical career path. Not only that, but I gained a best friend, loads of memories from traveling to Barcelona and Madrid, and a perspective on a culture unlike that here in the states. And of course, the food was out of this world! I got to explore my passions for medicine and travel, as well as culture, architecture, and adventure. My group had a hike through a gorgeous nature park, a tour of the coast of Ferrol, as well as a visit to Santiago de Compostela. Would recommend this to any Pre-medical professionals who love traveling!

My personal experience with Atlantis is easily one of the best experiences in my life. I shadowed at Hospital Universitario de Burgos in Burgos, Spain. It allowed me to grow and become more knowledgeable of the medical field. It allowed me to see first hand the day to day life of a doctor/surgeon in the hospital. And it allowed me to build professional relationships that I will always treasure. The doctors I encountered were so generous with their time and knowledge. They were eager to teach and show me cool and new things that I hadn't before. I was able to watch surgeries, endoscopies, and experience rotations and clinicals from the perspective of a doctor. Overall Atlantis helped motivate me to continue to pursue my dream of becoming a doctor. I'm excited to continue my studies and strive to be successful. When i'm feeling unmotivated, I will definitely look back on this experience to help motivate me to continue to strive. When i'm applying to medical school, this experience will definitely be one of the highlights in my journey.