Cerca Abroad

Hi, I am Andra, I go to UCSB. I chose to do a study abroad program in Athens at the General Hospital through Cerca Abroad because I wanted to gain some more shadowing medical experience and also to see what the healthcare system would be like in a foreign country. Through this program, I have learned a lot, such as how the neurosurgeon handled aneurysms and also performed endoscopic procedures. The Cerca Abroad program has been very helpful in coordinating tasks with the doctors and also providing our accommodation and explaining to us how to navigate a foreign country like Greece.

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My name is Lauren, I am a second-year biology major in UCSB and I am interning at a hospital in Athens, Greece. I chose to do this so that I can get hands-on experience, but also to experience a different country and their healthcare. I’ve learned a lot, especially from the neurosurgeons, and observed a lot of live procedures, which have been very helpful with my understanding. Cerca Abroad has been really great with coordinating and making sure I would feel comfortable in the new city.

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Hi, my name is Kateline, I am from California and I attend San Diego State University. I wanted to do this internship because I want to pursue my career in the health field and I would recommend this internship. I learned so much from talking to the health professionals and I learned so much just by observing here day to day. I would highly recommend this internship with Cerca Abroad because they’re very good and very fast and efficient in communication. Athens is also a beautiful place to explore and has such a beautiful history.

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Hi, my name is Jackob, I am from California and I go to school at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. I came to Athens to do an internship at Metropolitan General Hospital and I got to view a patient clinic for PT and also view surgeries. In Athens, I did a lot of traveling around the city and it was really easy to get around thanks to the help of the program, by showing us the basics of travel and also giving us a place to stay.

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Hi, my name is Maya, I am from North Carolina and I am a surgical intern here with Cerca Abroad. I am a senior in college and I like Athens. It’s a great city. There’s a lot to do here. The hospital I work at is amazing. The doctors are really nice, they’re patient, they explain everything to you, as long as you tell them what you’re interested in, they’ve got you. I like Cerca Abroad because they were really good at coordinating everything. They would provide services through this entire process and help me out with everything that I needed. Honestly, I would come back. I don’t want to go home.

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Hi, I’m Morgan, I am from California, I go to San Diego State University. I came to Greece to learn more about the medical profession and to get some shadowing experience. The hospital has been really great, all the doctors are super eager to help you learn and I got to see a lot of cool procedures and surgeries and explore the city of Athens as well. There’s a lot to do here. The friends I’ve made through the other Cerca Abroad programs have been amazing. Pretty well coordinated, I would say.

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Hi, my name is Brendan. I am from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. I completed both my Bachelor’s and Master’s in cell and tissue Bioengineering from Northeastern University. I chose to do an internship in order to gain more hands-on lab experience outside of my theoretical coursework and also the prospect of Cerca Abroad has been really exciting to me. I was able to perform DNA extraction and purification, as well as PCR, PCR sample prep and also get to see some sampling and sequencing. I am very happy with the communication, well organized, and also our accommodation has been very nice in the city. I enjoyed it very much, personally, it’s a fun town and Greece at large is very beautiful.

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My name is Jamie. I am from Pennsylvania, USA. I am a recent graduate from Penn State University with a bachelor’s in animal science. I am here with the international internship program for Arcturos. I was here assisting with monitoring and field work with brown bears and grey wolves as well as helping out with animal husbandry with the Greek shepherd dogs. I very much enjoyed my experience and I would recommend it to anyone.

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Hi, my name is Brianna, I am from Toronto, Canada. I decided to join Cerca Abroad, specifically their dental shadowing program, to gain more experience in the dental profession. I also decided to choose this program because of my Greek heritage roots. This opportunity has not only allowed me to connect with the Greek community, but also to explore many different areas of Athens, including trying different ethnic foods as well as exploring historic sites of Athens. The last couple of weeks I have been in the dental clinic shadowing many different procedures, including tooth extractions and root canal treatments as well as getting hands-on experience with the actual dentists themselves, practicing some surgical techniques as well as my own, personal canal treatment. Overall, I highly recommend this program to any students who are interested in pursuing dentistry in the future. The Cerca team has made this transition to Athens very smooth and they’re always willing to help you when you have questions. I also want to say I’m grateful to the staff and patients here who have come to the clinic here. Dr Costas has made this experience very memorable for us and he always answered our dental-related questions. For that reason, I highly recommend this program to anyone.

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Hello, my name is Cassidy, I come from Denver, Colorado, USA and I go to Whitman College. I chose to intern this summer because I wanted to experience other cultures outside the United States. I also wanted to gain some more experience in the physiotherapy world. During this internship I have learned so many different things, whether that was electrotherapy, stone therapy or how to move or maneuver somebody who is in a coma. I’ve learned so many different things and I am really grateful that I’ve been able to experience so much within this internship and learn so much from my peers and those around me. I am very happy with my internship experience with Cerca Abroad. It truly has been a life-altering experience and I hope to take what I learned here in this program and apply it back to America and my practice in the future. I one hundred percent enjoyed my stay in the country. Thessaloniki is a beautiful city. The food is amazing. There’s so much to do. All the people have been so much more than welcoming to me and my friends. It’s been a very great time. Hopefully I will come back when I’m older and visit again.

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Hi, my name is Paxton, I go to UC Berkeley. I came to the Athens Metropolitan Hospital for a two-week program. I got to see a lot of different stuff at the hospital. I got to see the clinic as well as the OR. In the clinic I got to see cardiology and neurology and in the OR I got to see orthopedic surgery and plastic surgery. I think this program has been very valuable for me as a premed student. I would say that I actually gained a lot of insight during this experience. I got to see some medical fields that I otherwise wouldn’t have gotten to. The program itself has been super amazing and the staff has been super accommodating, especially on helping me get all my documents in order and navigate Athens. Being in Athens has also been absolutely amazing, beautiful city, lots of great landmarks. I was able to see Hadrian’s Library, the Acropolis, and many great things. So, I definitely enjoyed my time here.

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Hello, my name is Taylorann, I am from Utah and I attend Utah Tech University. Here, Athens is very safe, I feel very good traveling to the hospital every day and being here at the hospital has been really great because doctors explain everything and are very kind. I’ve had the opportunity to sub for two different placements, which is something I wouldn’t have the opportunity to do elsewhere. In terms of the program, it’s been really great. They gave us a place to stay which is very safe and they gave you places to go and recommendations. Overall, I’ve had a great experience.

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Hello, my name is Elisabeth and I am from California and I study at San Diego State University. I picked this program because in the future I want to become either a nurse, surgeon or a plastic surgeon, which was solidified while doing this program. I got to witness tons of surgeries in the operating room and it really helped me along the decision of what I want to do when I am older, which is something I’ve been pondering for a little bit. With Cerca Abroad, they’ve been really responsive, so quick and great at communicating for anything I need- from directions to any issues, if there was anything with the apartment. Athens overall has been a great experience. There’s so much to do here and I would definitely recommend doing this program to anyone who is interested in healthcare. It’s extremely flexible and will help you figure out your decision on what you want to do in the future.

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Hi, my name is Sean, I am originally from California in the USA and currently I am a rising sophomore at CU Boulder in Colorado. I am eighteen years old and I am an intern here at the Atlantic University. I chose to intern in the field of drone automation because I am very interested in how precision hardware like drones or quadcopters intersects with a field like animation or AI. I chose Thessaloniki because I heard it has a vibrant student population, beautiful beaches and weather. During my time at the Hellenic University in my internship, I repaired a drone, which involves taking the drone apart and using precision hardware and soldering to repair this drone which has a broken motor. After that was done, we started testing with the sensors. The sensors I coded using Arduino on the bottom of this drone take readings through a DHT sensor, which senses humidity and temperature, and also a raindrop sensor, which detects leakage or, you know, raindrops. Now, this is important in the application of greenhouses or agriculture. The data is stored on the EEPROM terminal of the Arduino, which is an electronically erasable programmable read-only memory. It can be read back using a separate program on Arduino again. During my time in Thessaloniki, I visited many fun tourist spots like the beaches of Khalkidhiki and Mount Olympus, and these are very fun places to visit. The food here is great. The coffee is tasty. The people are very helpful, hospitable and kind. The students are plentiful. The city is very walkable and there is a vibrant nightlife as well. I have learned a lot about technology, culture, and history and I would love to come back in the future if possible. Cerca Abroad has been super communicative and organized. I loved it. The guides are super nice and also communicative. I really enjoyed this whole program. I would totally recommend it for friends and family. Thank you, Cerca Abroad.

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Hi, my name is Brylee, I am from Utah in the USA and I study at Utah Tech University and I found this program online. I chose to do it because I wanted some clinical experience with physiotherapy and also I wanted to travel. I really enjoyed my experience here and getting to work with the physiotherapists. They have been so nice and welcoming and I have loved working with the patients. Even though I don’t speak any Greek, I’ve learned a few terms and it’s been really fun to interact with people here. It’s also been very fun to travel. If you get the chance, I would really recommend sightseeing if you can after the internship, when going out and having some fun. The coordination with the program has been fantastic- great communication. You can always message them anytime and it’s really a great program. I would recommend it a lot.

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Hi, my name is Greta and I am from Minnesota, USA. I am currently applying to a PA school position in the U.S. and I decided to come here so that I can get some experience shadowing doctors and other medical professionals to kind of engage with what interests me the most. I’ve had a really great experience not only at the hospital but in Athens too. I really loved Athens and being able to travel to the islands has been also great. Overall, in my experience I found Greece supportive not only by the program but by the medical professionals here. I have learned so much and definitely I have a better understanding of the cultural differences as well as of myself and what I want to do in the future.

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Hello, my name is Jeremy, I am from Wisconsin, America, I went to the University of Wisconsin- Parkside and it is my hope that one day- hopefully- I will become a physician. I chose this program because, one, I wanted to get experience in the healthcare field in a different or foreign country and, second of all, Greece has always been one of my dream destinations to visit. So, the answer is simple, I came to Greece. Athens has been wonderful so far, actually when I first came here I was very surprised as it was different from what I thought it would be, but it was absolutely wonderful. I also had some chances to visit some of the islands, which are absolutely gorgeous. I loved my time sightseeing here, having fun. I absolutely enjoyed all the surgeries and clinics I was able to follow and watch. It has been so insightful. I sometimes go home and write some summaries for myself about the day, my feelings and experience and I think that I genuinely learned a lot. When I first got here Cerca Abroad was so helpful and very informative and I was very welcomed. I appreciate everything that I have been going through. Like I said, I absolutely loved it.

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Hello, I am Faidra, I am a medical student, I am in the first year of my studies. I study in Malta but I am half Greek- half Latin American. I decided to come to this program to see how hospitals here in Greece work, how surgeries are performed, because I am interested in plastic surgery. I also saw a lot of surgeries. Plastic surgeries like laparoscopic ones with robotic machines. I saw spine surgeries, reconstructive ones, a lot of things, and also clinical experience. We saw how doctors go and see patients, how they talk to them and how they make them feel here. I am very grateful to have been here; it was a very good experience. Athens is also beautiful. Coming here, home again, was a great idea. All the team behind the program are very good people and they can answer all your questions. Thank you.

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Hello there, my name is Ashley, I am from Ontario, Canada. I recently graduated from my Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at McMaster University. I decided to join this program with Cerca for dental shadowing to get more familiarized with the procedures and what is done in the dental profession here in Athens. I recently got a broad knowledge in Canada for dental shadowing but I wanted to get more familiarized and get more hands-on here in Europe. So, what I’ve been doing here in the last couple of weeks is shadowing Dr Costas and watched a diverse run of procedures, from tooth extractions to crumpled crown treatments as well as dental fittings, to name a few. Overall, it’s been a really great experience. From the team here with Cerca Abroad as well as the Athens area this is a very good opportunity to gain experience both in the medical field as well as get outside and learn about the cultural history that Athens has to offer. So, everything went smoothly transitioning our travels from Canada to here and I would really recommend this program to anyone who wishes to gain experience in a medical setting.

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Hello, my name is Allison. I am from Scottsdale, Arizona, I am twenty years old, and I am in my third year of undergraduate studies in California. I chose a medical internship because I am interested in pursuing a career in medicine in the future. I really wanted to get a taste of medicine and be involved in that environment. I was offered this opportunity through my school, and it seemed like a great way to go abroad and see a part of the world I had never seen before. Some of the most exciting things I’ve seen specifically in the hospital include patient interaction, which was super cool, as well as some incredible surgeries. My favorite experience was seeing an open-heart surgery, which was one of the craziest things I’ve ever witnessed. The doctors were amazing—they really explained everything. Coordination was smooth. I think, as much as it is well-coordinated, you also have to take initiative to see what you want to see. Athens is beautiful. The people are super nice and helpful if you need anything. The food was amazing—I had so much gyros! I also got to visit some of the islands and learn about the history of the region, which was very enriching.

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