Gabrielle Gregoire is currently in her first year of graduate school pursuing a MPH. Gabrielle participated in the Atlantis fellowship in the Winter of 2015 in Fatal, Portugal.
I choose this program the Atlantis program because my University did not have a specialized study abroad program that incorporated first-hand healthcare experience for pre-med students
The Atlantis program provided me a small scholarship to help cover some of the cost of the program while also providing an orientation to prepare me for the fellowship. I was able to fundraise the remaining cost of my trip by using GroupMe and formatting my message based on the tips provided by Atlantis.
One piece of advice I would give someone going on my program is to dive in and appreciate and embrace every experience. Not every day is fast-paced, but those or the days to just appreciate being abroad and learning more input the country you are visiting.
During an average week, we would wake up around 8:30 am and head over to the hospital to grab breakfast and get started on the day. You usually stay in a specialty for 2-3 days (depending on the length of your fellowship) before rotating to your new specialty.
At about 2 pm, we left the hospital to explore or prepare to go on an excursion with the rest of the group.
My biggest fear was traveling to the country because I had never left the country or been on a plane before. I was able to overcome this fear by finding other fellows at the airport and sitting with them on the plane and getting to know them.
The best part of my Atlantis fellowship was being able to shadow in different specialties. While in Portugal, I shadowed in cardiology, radiology, general surgery, and emergency room.