Pre-Health, not Pre-Med?

PAs are similar to MDs in their training and in how they practice. However, beyond shadowing, PA schools and programs require a large number of often paid, hands-on hours as an additional way to gain experience. As a PA applicant, you should always ensure you have these paid hours. That said, if you have (or will have) sufficient hours of this check-the-box clinical experience, Atlantis adds an entirely different dimension (which most PA applicants that check the box don’t have), and it contributes to applications for the same reasons Atlantis contributes to those in an MD path. We believe this this is part of the reason so many Atlantis alumni have been admitted to PA programs, as you can see in the profiles (and video, which often addresses how alumni used Atlantis in their PA interviews) on this page that you’re reading now.

Most of our students are on the MD track, but the same 3 pillars of getting accepted to schools apply to the PA track. Read more on Why 360 Shadowing

Adding 360 Shadowing means adding valuable elements that typical PA applicants, after securing all their required hours, don’t have:

• Depth (e.g., often seeing surgeries)
• Breadth (experiencing a wider variety of specialties – e.g. 6 specialties in 6 weeks)
• Intercultural perspective (a competency growing even more in importance across all healthcare paths)

It makes sense that Atlantis cohorts often include many pre-PA students, and that many Atlantis alumni on the PA track have been admitted to PA programs. That said, only you can tell whether it fits into your unique path.

I think that Atlantis put me in a unique position to stand out on my application…  I saw so many procedures and really experienced what it was like in an operating room… It demonstrated that I had a good understanding of how U.S. healthcare differed from other countries.

Every year, Atlantis hospital partners host many U.S. nursing students who see Atlantis as the great way to study abroad while simultaneously contributing to their healthcare career. If you’re a nursing student, joining Atlantis will allow you to develop a strong sense of day-to-day life in a hospital. You will shadow healthcare professionals in a variety of fields and be immersed in a technologically advanced system similar to the U.S., but with more access to the inner workings of the hospital. Shadowing abroad also supplements your U.S. clinical experience with valuable intercultural perspective.

Why consider Atlantis over other programs? Every program has its pros, but nursing students often choose Atlantis because we are the leader in healthcare short-term study abroad; with an established reputation among pre-health advisors and over 100 hospital partners around the globe.

Be sure to do your research and see if Atlantis is best for you!

I think that the program holds a lot of value for me in my future career as a nurse. It’s something that helps set me apart from other graduates and has enriched my undergraduate experience. Seeing different angles to medicine was also very educational for me; in school I learned the nursing perspective but with Atlantis I was able to see the doctors’ perspective, which gives me a more holistic team approach in my future career.

PT/OT students join Atlantis because they want to study abroad and because they see Atlantis as a way to understand another healthcare system. Because PT/OT professionals often treat patients following hospital stays, it helps to have a sense of the MD perspective and the overall hospital environment. Atlantis programs give aspiring PT/OT students valuable experience in a complex, exciting environment that is adjacent to their field of choice.

PT/OT students often choose Atlantis hospital programs over more narrowly defined PT/OT study abroad because Atlantis has many more years of expertise running high-quality programs. Atlantis may be less PT/OT-focused (you will usually not shadow a PT/OP professional), but its higher quality and degree of exposure to healthcare in general makes it a smart choice for many students who value breadth and depth of clinical experience. Look at Atlantis and other options and compare the trade-offs, since only you can tell what’s best for your particular path.

Be sure to explore your options and feel free to chat with us about what is best for you!

This [program] provided me with cultural, educational, and life skills that will make me more competitive to get into Occupational Therapy school. These skills will also help me throughout my life and career.

Pre-dental students join Atlantis because they want to study abroad and because they see Atlantis as a way to experience another healthcare system. Atlantis programs give aspiring dental students experience in a complex, exciting environment that is adjacent to their field of choice.

Pre-dental students often choose Atlantis hospital programs over more narrowly defined pre-dental study abroad because Atlantis has many more years of expertise running high-quality healthcare exposure programs. Atlantis may be less dentistry-focused (and students do not shadow dentists), but its higher quality makes it a smart choice for many students who value breadth and depth of clinical experience.

Be sure to explore your options and feel free to chat with us about what is best for you! You will have to decide on whether you’d prefer to do a study abroad program that touches on dentistry more directly, or whether you want a more general healthcare perspective that is proven.

I chose Atlantis as it allowed me to validate my career path and learn firsthand how a hospital functions. Finding shadowing opportunities in the United States has been really difficult, but this program allowed me quality shadowing experience while learning extensively about a different culture abroad!

Pre-pharm students join Atlantis because they want to study abroad and because they see Atlantis as a way to experience another healthcare system. Atlantis programs give aspiring pharmacy students valuable experience in a complex, exciting environment that is adjacent to their field of choice. However, Atlantis students generally do not shadow pharmacy professionals.

Pre-pharm students often choose Atlantis hospital programs over more narrowly defined pre-pharm study abroad because Atlantis has many years of expertise running high-quality healthcare exposure programs. Atlantis may be less pharmacy-focused, but its higher quality makes it a smart choice for many students who value breadth and depth of clinical experience.

Be sure to explore your options and feel free to chat with us about what is best for you!

I didn’t know what type of health care field I would want to work in, but the Atlantis experience helped guide me into making the decision to work in a hospital setting that relates to pharmacy and/or medical sales. I saw a lot of amazing things, and I am so thankful I was able to partake in this program.

Atlantis participants are often interested in public health and/or are public health undergraduate majors, and our alumni have ended up in public health graduate programs such as that of Johns Hopkins, arguably the number one public health program. Read more in our public health page.

Atlantis runs Service-Research Projects primarily for pre-med students whose main goal is primarily to be admitted to medical school or other healthcare programs and to obtain a unique experience that helps with that. However, any student interested in healthcare administration, whether or not he/she is also interested in medical school, should consider our Service-Research Projects, a unique opportunity.