I was an Atlantis Project fellow in August of 2015 in Terceira, Portugal. This experience was one of the most influential for me both personally and in my career endeavors. I traveled out of the country for the first time and was able to experience a

new and fascinating culture. The shadowing opportunities were such an inspiring opportunity that in this past semester when I really struggled, they were my reason to keep pushing. It gave me sight of the end goal and reminded me why I want to pursue my career. While there I gained about 20 hours a week of shadowing with doctors, nurses, surgeons, specialists etc... In my free time I was able to go hiking, explore a volcano, go cliff diving, swim with wild dolphins, go whale watching and overall learn about a new culture. This was one of the best experiences as I not only gained observation hours and educational information, but I also gained a new sense of independence and a more diverse outlook on life. I'd highly recommend this to anyone interested in the medical field and/or going abroad. Safety was always made a priority, hospital staff was always willing to help, and the scenery was gorgeous everywhere you went Some highlights: extensive shadowing/observation, exploration of a new culture, amazing extracurricular activities like hiking and swimming with dolphins

The Atlantis project not only allowed me and my fellows to shadow and experience a doctors/surgeons daily life was but it also gave us a sense of direction into what we all are looking for and what we are not looking for. Through out the program I was

able to pinpoint where in the medical field I would like to follow up on and where I was sure not to. I learned so much and was actually able put my knowledge to use and see how much I actually know. It was overall an amazing experience and I recommend everyone who is interested in the medical field, to go do this program.

For the best, hands down, summer of my life I interned with The Atlantis Project for 12 weeks in Spain and Portugal. As an aspiring medical school student I knew that my summers were extremely valuable not only for gaining experience to become a competitive

applicant for medical school, but also for enjoying life and seeing the world. With a background in Hispanic Studies and pre medical courses, I was able to practice speaking Spanish on a daily basis and see how real hospitals in Europe operate. For anyone trying to decide how to spend their time and money this summer, The Atlantis Project fully takes care of their interns and provides them with experiences for a lifetime by shadowing seemingly every speciality in a foreign hospital. Although this program is early in its development, the coordinators and leadership at the Atlantis Project take pride in assuring a quality worthwhile experience for their interns that does not just throw them into a hospital everyday, but rather gives them the opportunity to make personally rewarding connections with the international medical community.

Spain is such an incredible country full of beautiful people who are truly so kind. I had an amazing opportunity this summer (July 2015) to go to Guadalajara, Spain (1 hr from Madrid by train) to shadow and observe many different specialities. It was

truly an unforgettable experience. When I first landed in the Madrid airport, it was extremely large and overwhelming. However, I am the type of person who does not have a lot of fears when I travel. I love new experiences and visiting new countries. I knew maybe five words in Spanish and idd not know much about Spanish culture. The program did provide very specific details on how to get from the airport to the program site. It was extremely useful, but there is only so much information can do. The next part is very much up to the individual to seek out help from locals (who were extremely kind) and do the best you can. Luckily, I found a few other Atlantis fellows by overhearing some conversations spoken in English. Together, we were able to get to the correct train station in Madrid (Atocha) and get to our respective program locations. It was fine once I was in Guadalajara because my program coordinator (who I became so fond of) was waiting for me. She was waiting for me at the train station and paid for the cab ride (as they indicate) and brought me to the dormitories. Each program site will look different, but the one in Guadalajara was a college dormitory. However, because it was summer the students were on break and we were able to use the facility. It was not extremely nice (relatively speaking), but it was still a safe haven by the end of the trip. I did not encounter any bugs or anything like that but it is a bit older of a facility. They changed my sheets every week and provided breakfast Monday-Friday. The breakfast is the same every day, but you become appreciative by the end of it. If you are the high maintenance type, I recommend you also learn what it's like for other nations to live, even if they are considered an affluent, developed nation. It is important to immerse yourself in all settings and learn from any type of environment, in my opinion. Each day we went to the hospital 8-3pm and we normally took the bus which was about a 10 min walk form the dorms. A bus card was provided for us and the walk was very easy (slight incline). The town of Guadalajara is very quaint and pretty. It is not a large town, but there are still a few things to see. There is a mall near the hospital that the students would often visit after their time at the hospital. At the hospital, we had two rotations per week. I was in Guadalajara for 4 weeks and was assigned up to 8 specialities. However, there were certain specialities that the other fellows were more interested in and if the coordinator thought it was fit, you could re-arrange the specialities that you really desired to have, but were not assigned to. This time was so valuable to me and I will cherish this for the rest of my career. The Spanish doctors are so incredible that I do not even know where to begin in describing them. A few relationships I was able to make were with a few anesthesiologists, the chief of nephrology and an oncologist. Personally, I am not interested in a surgical specialty at all, and so when I was assigned to anesthesia, I did not think it would be one bit exciting. However, I tried to keep an open mind about it and I was able to learn so much. The anesthesiologist I was assigned to was a very young doctor. It was only her 2nd or 3rd year as an attending but she was in her 20s. She was so friendly even though her english was very limited. In the operating room, there is a lot of time with anesthesiologists that you have to wait. So it was a perfect opportunity to talk to the doctor and learn from them. She explained the healthcare system in Spain and what it entails. It is so different from the U.S. and there are aspects that the U.S. healthcare system should adopt. The doctor was always keen on showing me what the surgery was about. She did not know the specifics about each operation because she is not a surgeon, but she would share all the knowledge of the procedures she could with me. I have never felt so personally mentored by a doctor that I had just met. I was able to show my enthusiasm each morning with her that she even invited me to come on other days and to observe an on-call shift. With the approval of my coordinator, I was able to do all of these things. I can list so many different interactions I had with each doctor that I was observing, but this review would never end. I have so much to say about each doctor that I truly do not know where to begin. I still keep in touch with many of the doctors from Spain that I met. The Chief of Nephrology was so encouraging. He gave me words of wisdom and things I can do to improve as a pre-medical student. Still to this day, when he responds to my emails, he always says that he believes in me and affirms me to tell me that I will become a great doctor. It is these kinds of relationships that I was able to build, that have become invaluable experiences to me. The Chief of Nephrology told me that he would love to hear about my pre-medical journey to the end and even when I am able to earn my own degree for him to know how my practice is going. I was so encouraged by him. No doctor has ever shown me that kind of faith that I can accomplish everything I want to. Of course there were specialities that were not as exciting, but I always kept an open mind and I have been able to learn something even from the less exciting specialities. In addition to the invaluable hospital experiences I was able to gather, there were always two cultural immersion activities a week. These were optional (but they are included in the program fee, so it is recommended to attend them) and with the entire group. My group had about 13 students, including myself and so it was a very manageable size group to go around with. These times were very fun and I learned a lot about Central Spain. We always had a tour guide. In Europe tour guides are highly acclaimed and have to have a lot of education and usually have several masters in different areas such as religion, geography, politics, etc. These highly educated tour guides would explain the history of the areas we visited and it was very informational and fun to hear from a Spanish tour guide. The dinners we had were pretty excellent. There were 3 (maybe 4) a week and there would always be so much food that I would nearly burst. Additionally, on the weekends, a lot of people would travel by train to different parts of Spain. I went to Valencia with a few of my friends that I made in the program and it was a very fun weekend. Another weekend I spent on-call with the anesthesiologists and another weekend, I was able to visit Madrid (an incredible city). The last weekend I went to Madrid again to shadow a pediatric oncology (my dream speciality) in one of the major hospitals in the city. They did not have pediatric oncologists in Guadalajara. Even this opportunity only came through the Chief of Nephrology who was able to set me up with his friend in Madrid to go and observe. There, I was even offered a research position if ever came back to Spain in an oncology lab. I was so amazed at how eager they are to partner with global health partners. They are so passionate about making medicine globally united to overcome diseases quicker and more efficiently. These opportunities all came from efforts of getting to know the doctors I was shadowing and sharing the interests that I have. Before this review turns into any longer of an essay, I will say that every penny was worth this program. I am thankful to the Atlantis Project for what it was able to provide for me. It is not a perfect program but it is very invaluable to partake as a fellow at the Atlantis Project. I would highly recommend this program to any pre-medical student. Experiencing European healthcare has never been so rewarding.

The abroad experience with the atlantis project provided me with a cultural immersion of the spanish culture, as my program was in the small town of Toledo and it also allowed me to explore many other cities of Spain. The best part of the experience was

the shadowing experience. I was able to shadow 6 different specialties of doctors in just three weeks. Others in my program traveled between different cities of Spain and Portugal, which I would have loved to do if given the time. The excursions that the program provided were fun but there was also no pressure to not go on them if you weren't feeling up to it. Another plus is that the administration took our feedback into consideration during the trip. We had some difficulties with the temperature in our rooms, and we ended up being moved to an air conditioned hotel. Overall this program was great and I would love to do it again.

My experience with the Atlantis Project was one of the most enriching experiences in a hospital and clinical environment I ever had. In the shorter term that I was able to experience being alongside healthcare professionals, I was able to visit multiple

departments in the hospital, witness a cesarean section, multiple realignment surgeries, pediatric care, and much more. The doctors and nurses I shadowed and spent time with were not only some of the most friendly staff I met, but they also were very knowledgeable and caring about their patients and the students that shadowed in their program. I learned some new things in the techniques I witnessed in surgery, and got to see how some of newer technologies in the cardiac and pulmonary departments were implemented. The guide we also had that helped us adjust to some of the cultural differences was so friendly and knowledgeable as well, and we felt right at home being as close to the hospital as we were. I highly recommend checking out what the Atlantis Project offers and encourage students with all levels of shadowing experience to apply!