Shadowing, Applying to Med/PA School
Why You Should Shadow International Physicians
About Julia
Julia grew up in Northern Virginia and graduated with high distinction from the University of Virginia with Bachelors degrees in biology and music. She plans to attend medical school in 2019. She has traveled abroad to eight countries in Europe, including France, Germany, and the Czech Republic. As a member of the Atlantis team, Julia enjoys helping other pre-med students discover a love for medicine and grow in their understanding of the field.
What do clinical experience, successful storytelling, and extracurricular activities all have in common? If you guessed they’re all essential elements of a successful medical school application, then you’d be correct!
I’m sure you’ve done your fair share of studying, volunteering, and research. And in that way, you’ve already made a good head start on preparing yourself for the journey to medical school. But there are ways to make yourself stand out even more distinctly from the rest of the premed crowd. Participating in an international shadowing program will help you gain massive clinical exposure, give you the ability to tell a great story on your med school app, and boost your extracurricular resume.
Get Medical Experience
On international fellowship programs, students spend 20+ hours per week shadowing doctors, rotating through different specialties and getting an up-close view of what medicine looks like in action. This high level of medical exposure lets students gain a clarified understanding of what a career in medicine entails and fulfills the “clinical experience” requirement that most med schools have on their checklists.
Network
One of the best ways to create a network of pre-med and medical school advisors is to attend an international fellowship abroad for medical school, in which students will be working closely with other, like-minded pre-health students. Not only are these fellowships great opportunities to make networking connections that may prove useful when applying to medical school, but an international fellowship also provides a great way to meet new friends and stay connected to fellow students and coworkers.
“Tell[ing] a story in your personal statement…is crucial to standing out from all the hundreds of other applicants.”
Perform Better in Interviews and on Med School Apps
Although most pre-health fellowship opportunities don’t offer university credit, the unique experiences that these programs offer students will afford them a wealth of interesting subject matters to discuss in med school interviews and on personal statements. Being able to tell a story in your personal statement and in your interviews is crucial to standing out from all the hundreds of other applicants. On international fellowship programs, students are able to see what life in another country is like, as well as gain practical and clinical exposure to a variety of medical fields. Having this opportunity is a great way to get more direct observation experience outside of the classroom and allows you to develop material that will prove useful in interviews and application statements.
Expand Your Understanding of Healthcare
As important as it is for students to understand their own country’s healthcare system, an international experience will provide a much more well-rounded view of healthcare. By gaining insight into the elements of international healthcare that are successful, students can apply that valuable knowledge to their future careers. In the rapidly changing field of healthcare, this knowledge can be useful and will highlight a valuable global mindset in interviews and applications.
Find the Right Field for You
One of the most valuable perspectives you can gain from a fellowship program abroad is an insight into the different specialties of medicine. With a fellowship program that allows you to shadow multiple medical specialties, you will gain exposure to different types of medicine and even may ultimately find the field of medicine you want to pursue long term. Additionally, you will most certainly become more enthused about pursuing your dream in healthcare, driving you to work harder in school.
Boost Your Extracurricular Activities
Among the many ways to stand out on a medical school application is being able to prove the value of your extracurricular activities. You’ll want to be able to explain why the activities into which you’ve poured significant time and energy are valuable to your career as a doctor. One way to prove the worth of your extracurricular activities is to go on an international fellowship abroad. On some fellowship programs, you will have the opportunity to participate in medical research and volunteering. In combination with your time spent shadowing doctors abroad, these extracurricular activities will allow you to grow in your communication skills, international immersion, and understanding of medical service. You might even end up learning a new language! Furthermore, participating in an international fellowship will allow you to express these activities more clearly on a resume, making a case for why your time was spent well.
Conclusion
Whether you go abroad for a week, a few months, or longer, there are countless benefits you will gain from your international experience as a pre-health student. In addition to personal growth, international experience will further prepare you to present yourself as the ideal candidate for your desired job or professional school. In addition to the highlights in this article, there are numerous other advantages to having an international experience that will continue to benefit you long into the future.
Note that if you are a student interning in a hospital, even as part of a foreign healthcare system, it is important that you do not do anything while in the hospital that you are not allowed to do in the United States. Hospital internships should involve only observing doctors and not practicing any medicine. Violating these standards, regardless of the country where you are located when doing so, will only hurt your medical school application. The safest thing is only to observe. If you are at an early stage of your health professions education you should focus on observation; this way your international experience can be a strong step toward making you a better candidate and a better healthcare professional—while having a lot of fun exploring another country along the way.
Our Alumni Enter Great Medical Schools
John Daines
- Atlantis '17
- Brigham Young University '19
- Washington U. in St. Louis MD '23
Zoey Petitt
- Atlantis '17
- U. of Arizona '18
- Duke MD '23
Zoey Petitt
Hungary ’17 || University of Arizona (undergraduate) ’18
Completed Atlantis Program Location and Date:
Hungary, Summer 2017
Do you believe your Atlantis experience helped you get into your graduate program?
I believe it was very helpful.
Generally, why do you think Atlantis helped you get into your graduate program?
For me, my Atlantis experience played a key role in confirming my decision to go into medicine. This was important for me to discuss during the admissions process.
Specifically, did you talk about Atlantis in your interviews?
Yes
Yong-hun Kim
- Atlantis '17
- Stanford '19
- Mayo Clinic MD '24
Yong-Hun Kim
Budapest, Hungary ’17 || Stanford University
Program:
Budapest, Hungary – Winter 2017
Undergraduate:
Stanford University class of 2019
Major:
Computer Science
Honors:
Bio-X Grant (award for research)
Undergraduate Activities:
President and Founder of Stanford Undergraduate Hospice and Palliative Care, Volunteer for Pacific Free Clinic, Research Assistant in Wernig Pathology Lab, President of Hong Kong Student Association, violin performance
Describe Atlantis in three words:
Eye-opening. Spontaneous. Exhilarating.
Why did you choose Atlantis?
I chose the Atlantis program because it combines opportunities to shadow physicians and travel abroad, both of which I had little prior exposure to.
What was your favorite experience as an Atlantis participant?
My favorite experience as an Atlantis participant came in the stories exchanged over meals or excursions and the breadth of conversation that reflected the diversity of backgrounds within our cohort and site managers.
What was the most meaningful aspect of your time shadowing?
I appreciated the chance to speak with physicians in Budapest and hear their personal motivations for pursuing medicine because it really helped better contextualize and validate my own interest in medicine. The physicians were also just really welcoming, relatable, and down-to-earth people.
How has Atlantis helped equip you for the future?
The Atlantis program has equipped me with a better understanding of what a career in medicine looks like, which I think is an invaluable gift considering the long road ahead of those who aspire to be a physician.
How has Atlantis equipped you for active leadership in the medical field?
The ability to interact and empathize with patients of diverse backgrounds and communities is a necessity to be a leader in the medical field. I think the Atlantis program, through my interactions with mentors and their patients, has helped me take my first steps toward attaining the cultural vocabulary and literacy required of a physician.
Megan Branson
- Atlantis '18
- U. of Montana '19
- U. of Washington MD '24
Sarah Emerick
- Atlantis '19
- Eckerd College '20
- Indiana U. MD '25
Snow Nwankwo
- Atlantis '19
- Catholic U. of America '21
- Georgetown U. MD '26
Tiffany Hu
- Atlantis '16
- U. of Maryland '17
- U. of Michigan MD '22
Tiffany Hu
Tereul, Spain ’16 || U Michigan Medical School
Program:
Teruel, Spain – Summer 2016
Undergraduate:
University of Maryland class of 2017
Admitted medical student at:
University of Michigan Medical School
Major:
Neurobiology
Honors:
Honors Integrated Life Sciences Program, Banneker/Key Scholarship
Extracurricular Activities:
American Medical Student Association Co-President & Advocacy Day Liaison, Alternative Breaks Experience Leader, Health Professions Advising Office Student Advisory Board, Biology Teach Assistant, Health Leads, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, NIH Research Intern, Physicians for Social Responsibility Environment & Health Intern
Describe Atlantis in Three Words:
Educational. Eye-opening. Exhilarating.
Why did you choose Atlantis?
I wanted to expand my horizons and understand a culture of health different from the ones I am accustomed to. I had shadowed doctors in the United States and Taiwan prior to my Atlantis program experience, and being able to see first-hand the healthcare system in Spain allowed me to draw comparisons between the different complex healthcare systems.
What was your favorite experience as an Atlantis participant?
Bonding with the other participants and celebrating our time together along with the doctors we shadowed. We would discuss our interests, passions, and motivation for medicine, and it was an incredible experience to learn from and alongside them.
What was your experience with the doctors you were shadowing?
Because of the pre-established relationships with the hospitals in which we shadowed, all the doctors were very welcoming and accommodating. They were willing to translate for us and explain in detail all of their medical decisions. My doctors and I had wonderful conversations about the differences between life in Spain vs. the United States.
What was the most meaningful aspect of your time shadowing?
I was excited to scrub in on surgeries and watch as the doctor explained what he was doing throughout the operation. Before and after surgeries, as well as in my other rotations, I observed how the doctors reassured and communicated with their patients. I was able to glean insight into differences between the experience of health in Spain versus the United States through observation as well as conversations with the doctors.
How has Atlantis helped equip you for the future?
Besides the wealth of medical knowledge I gained from shadowing the doctors, I challenged myself to step outside of my cultural comfort zone and explore more than I thought I was capable of. Atlantis allowed me to make connections with people from all around the United States and abroad, and the friendships I gained helped me learn so much more than I would have on my own.
Lauren Cox
- Atlantis '18
- Louisiana Tech '20
- U. of Arkansas MD '24
Lauren Cox
Libson, Portugal ’18 || Louisiana Tech
Completed Atlantis Program Location(s):
Lisbon, Portugal
Year of most recent program:
Fall ’17 – Summer ’18
Season of most recent program:
Summer
Do you believe your Atlantis experience helped you get into your graduate program?
Extremely helpful
Generally, why do you think Atlantis helped you get into your graduate program?
It exposed me to shadowing that was hard to come by in the states. It also gave me a chance to see other systems of healthcare.
Specifically, did you talk about Atlantis in your interviews? If so, how much relative to other topics?
Yes – they wanted to know about my experience, and specifically how the healthcare I saw in another country compared to what I had seen in the USA.
Kayla Riegler
- Atlantis '18
- U. of Kentucky '20
- U. of Kentucky MD '24
About Atlantis
Atlantis is the leader in pre-health shadowing and clinical experience, offering short-term programs (1-10 weeks) over academic breaks for U.S. pre-health undergraduates. Medical schools want 3 things: (1)healthcare exposure, (2)GPA/MCAT, and (3)certain competencies. Atlantis gives you a great version of (1), frees you to focus on (2), and cultivates/shows (3) to medical school admissions committees.
Watch Video: The Atlantis Shadowing Experience and How it Helps In Your Med/PA Admissions Future
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