Go for the Experience and Stories not the Refrences

My stay at Gap Medics was great, but not flawless. We ended up being moved to the brand new house which was still under construction due to unforeseen circumstances, which made it less than great. However, I'm sure that it will be beautiful once finished. It was a little bit of an oversight on Gap Medics part to move us there without it being 100% up to expectations. The food was sub par, and there was an issue with accommodating some food allergies that were not initially communicated with the chefs upon arrival to the house. Make sure you wake up right at 7 o'clock, or you won't get much selection for breakfast. There often wasn't enough food prepared for the amount of students coming through. Make sure you hit up the little coffee shop in Buddhachinaraj hospital!

Being that it is a new location and new hospitals, there were many times where my placements were quite unorganized. There were a few times where we were told by our mentors to go home early, with 2 hours left in the day, with a 1 hour lunch break already being taken, as well as a late start. We later found out that our mentor just didn't understand her told with Gap Medics, which is simply a lack of communication on Gap Medics part. However, mentors in Orthopaedics, Dr. Art in ophthalmology, and Dr. Namtip in Neonatal were absolutely fantastic, and my experience was so great.

However, coming home from Gap medics I am slightly disappointed after asking for my references to be sent. I was assured that Gap medics sends top notch references out to students that are a key aspect to aiding your application to medical school. Frankly, i would be embarrassed to pass these on to any official grading my application to a medical school. When I was in Thailand, we were given score sheets that were to aid out mentors and the Gap medics staff in creating thorough reviews for you. When asking for my review from Gap Medics headquarters, I was sent the score sheets with 5s in each category and nothing else. Really? I could print one of these off and do it myself and claim it as a doctor to send to medical school. This is very disheartening