Individual Pre-Health Stories, Atlantis
How Atlantis Changed My Interest in Medicine
About Kaitlyn
Kaitlyn Rizzo is a second year medical student at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is originally from Northeast Ohio and attended the University of Dayton for a B.S. in Exercise Physiology. Kaitlyn attended a summer 2017 Fellowship in Lisbon, Portugal and hopes to return there one day.
Wondering whether or not an Atlantis program can have a profound effect on how you view medicine? Today, Atlantis Alumna, Kaitlyn Rizzo, explains how her Atlantis program challenged her expectations and shaped her medical aspirations.
Learning to be Open-Minded About Hospital Placements
In my three and a half years of undergraduate study, I have never heard anyone declare: “I want to be a gastroenterologist.” For probably obvious reasons, this is not a popular aspiration of future doctors, myself included. Thus, after discovering that the first rotation of my Atlantis Fellowship would be in the gastroenterology department, you can probably imagine how I felt: less than thrilled.
As students pursuing medicine, it can be easy to become naive and close-minded. In my experience, choosing orthopedics was settling for what was comfortable.
To be honest, I was extremely close-minded before attending my Atlantis program. I had shadowed a considerable amount in the U.S. prior to going abroad. Due to that experience, I knew that sports medicine and orthopedics piqued my interest.
Throughout high school and college, I had been used to these specialties, both as a patient and a student observer. My passion even led me to major in exercise physiology. Observing in an emergency department was the only time I strayed from this course, and shortly after, I drifted right back to orthopedics.
Because of my interests, I naturally hoped I’d spend my weeks in Lisbon, Portugal seeing procedures like knee replacements, shoulder arthroscopies, and maybe even a spine surgery. After all, this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life… or so I thought. I had not yet had the opportunity to see surgeries like this in the past, and doing so in a beautiful, new city in Europe seemed a dream come true.
The reality, as is often the case, was very different from my expectations. I saw absolutely none of the procedures I had hoped to see: no knees, no hips, no ankles, no shoulders. Yet, looking back almost a year later, I am forever grateful for this. Instead of seeing the body parts and procedures with which I was already familiar through prior shadowing experience, I saw a multitude of patients with problems I knew nothing about. I watched truly life-changing procedures and saw patients of all ages, none of which had anything to do with orthopedics.
Opening Up New Horizons in Medicine
In fact, my program was spent in fields I had never even considered pursuing or shadowing. Yet, I can honestly say that my perspective and interests in medicine changed from pre-program to post-program.
During my week in gastroenterology, I saw everything from a routine colonoscopy to an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (say that one five times fast…and then in Portuguese…). In week two, the internal medicine physicians taught me the true meaning of patient care, while also expanding my knowledge of heart and lung sounds.
I had the opportunity to see a cyst removal on a one-month-old infant in my third week in the pediatric department. During that time, I also watched two children’s lives completely changed due to the work of incredible surgeons who made use of other parts of the body to reconstruct something new. In week four, I watched a life-saving hepatic transplant, cancer removal, and a gastric bypass surgery.
Had I not attended an Atlantis program last summer, I believe my journey to becoming a physician would have been much different.
Now As I Head Towards Medical School…
To say that I was lucky to have had these experiences is an understatement, and if I were placed in orthopedic specialties during my time in Lisbon, none of it would have been possible. Had I not attended the Atlantis physican shadowing program last summer, I believe my journey to becoming a physician would have been much different.
Now that I will be attending osteopathic medical school in the fall, I am incredibly lucky to have had the experiences I did on my program – even in gastroenterology.
Going into medical school, it is great to be confident in your love of one specialty, but truthfully, most people change their minds along the way. As students pursuing medicine, it can be easy to become naive and close-minded. In my experience, choosing orthopedics was settling for what was comfortable.
I closed so many open doors without even realizing it, but all you need is one experience to reintroduce new possibilities. My Atlantis program did exactly this, and I will be forever appreciative of the doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff who reframed my perspectives on medicine.
As students pursuing medicine, it can be easy to become naive and close-minded. In my experience, choosing orthopedics was settling for what was comfortable. I closed so many open doors without even realizing it, but all you need is one experience to reintroduce new possibilities.
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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