Atlantis (Pre-Health Summer)

Program Reviews

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Roberto
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Matosinhos

This was a great program for reinforcing one’s desire to be in the medical field. Anything from a physician, to a orthopedic surgeon, to an anesthesiologist; there are many opportunities to get to know someone in these fields and other fields and get their perspective on how they completed their schooling, if and why they enjoy what they do, and to ultimately get a different point of view of medicine than one’s own in their country of residence. It also an experience that allows a person to grow in a different environment - whether with the group members from different cities and backgrounds to the new and unfamiliar country and its’ customs to being exposed to a day-to-day life of a medical professional within a hospital setting. Great time.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Be ready to accept that where your program is will be different than your country of origin. Different foods, different customs, different day-to-day routines. One must accept this to enjoy it fully.
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Nicole
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Trieste, Italy

Going to Trieste was the best experience of my life. I am currently a pre-med student and was struggling with finding shadowing internships until I came across an ad on instagram for Atlantis. I was hesitant to apply because I assumed it was false advertisement. Boy was I wrong. This program is amazing and I am happy to report that I have no regrets with my trip to Italy. Shadowing was amazing and of course the language barrier was a little difficult in the hospital, but it has made me more aware of the fact that there are different cultures out there and we need to be tolerant. I learned more about medicine from my three weeks in Trieste than any book could teach me. Not only do I have some hours down to prepare for my medical school application but I have experience and a great memory to share with others. So thank you Atlantis!

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Be prepared to travel by yourself. It is scary but the most rewarding thing ever because you know you were able to travel to another country all on your own.
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Christianne
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A once in a lifetime global medicine shadowing experience

Shadowing physicians in a global health care setting was such an invaluable experience that has shaped and will continue to shape the kind of physician that I hope to someday be.
I have never travelled outside of the US before, and yet Atlantis prepared me so well for this fellowship that I felt no anxiety whatsoever about traveling alone in a foreign country. My Site Manager made it so that I always felt safe and so that I also got the most of my experience, both in the hospital and during excursions/exploring the city.
I learned so much of value while shadowing in the hospital. There is so much about global medicine that you can only experience; that you can’t be taught without firsthand experience. In Greece, I had the opportunity to see medicine practiced in manners both similar and different to that in the US, and it forced me to consider the pros and cons of both our healthcare systems. Furthermore, with the vast number of hours of shadowing you obtain, not only is it good for your resume, but it gives you a chance to decide if a career in medicine is really the right path for you. The shadowing isn’t easy; the language barrier and often long hours on your feet can be exhausting, but the life-changing learning experience is a reward well worth it.
This program isn’t just an opportunity to explore global medicine. It’s an opportunity to explore a new country through weekly excursions and group dinners and to make meaningful lifetime friendships with fellow pre-meds. It is an experience that you will reflect on for the rest of your life and will shape your future career in medicine.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
My advice to future travelers in this program is to make sure you get the most of your experience in the hospital. What I mean by that is that it can be very difficult shadowing in a hospital that speaks an unfamiliar language and has different protocols and rules than what you may be used to in the US. So although you maybe be uncomfortable, seize every opportunity. Ask questions and don’t be afraid to talk to your Site Manager if you don’t feel like you are being given the best opportunity to learn. Most physicians and nurses are eager to teach, as long as you show interest and professionalism.
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Rachel
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Atlantis Pontevedra

I did the shadowing program for 4 weeks in Pontevedra, Spain and it was truly life-changing. We were treated practically like residents in the hospital and got to see the surgeries up close and personal, treated like locals in the city, living right by the major plaza, and each of us felt like we built incredible friendships. The excursions were breathtaking and my site manager is one of the best people I’ve met in my life. I recommend this program to anybody, even if they’re unsure they want to do medical school because the experience is incredible and it will tell you for sure if it’s what you want to do. I came in wanting to be an obstetrician and during my obstetrics round, I confirmed that it is exactly what I want to do. I know many people with similar experiences or some who thought they wanted one thing but now they want another. Truly spectacular experience.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
I would have napped less because there were some days I could have seen more, but instead napped.
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Victoria
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Atlantis Fellowship is an amazing experience!!

I just completed my fellowship with Atlantis and it was one of the best experiences of my life! I was able to shadow in on some interesting surgeries and meet some amazing people. I loved getting to know the other fellows as well as the Atlantis staff and hospital staff during the three weeks I was in Thessaloniki! The site managers on this trip did everything in their power to make our experience incredible! I really enjoyed getting to live like a local in the city center in Thessaloniki; it is a beautiful place and the people are so nice! I definitely recommend it! In addition to a great hospital experience, we got to go on some really cool excursions and see some incredible places! I also enjoyed having the weekends free to travel! It was great being able to see more of the country on my own time! Overall, this was a really great experience!

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
If I did this fellowship over, I would make a bigger effort to learn more Greek before coming here. While many people spoke English in and outside of the hospital, there was definitely still a language barrier. I believe I would have appreciated the hospital experience more than I already did if I would have been able to understand everything the doctors and nurses were saying in the OR. However, most of the doctors and nurses did a great job at explaining things in English as they went along for us!
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Cayla
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

LIFE CHANGING

If you are even slightly interested in pursuing a career in healthcare, Atlantis is for you!! I have shadowed countless times in the United States, and I can honestly say that Atlantis proved to be the richest and most valuable of all my shadowing experiences thus far! This fellowship challenges you to escape the comfortable perimeters of your own medical culture and teaches you that healthcare is such a beautiful universal language! This fellowship taught me so much about myself, about my host country, and about medicine. Although I missed home, three weeks came and went far too quickly! I cannot recommend it enough! If you are considering doing an Atlantis fellowship, please GO DO IT!!!!! It will be one of your best decisions, I promise!

What would you improve about this program?
I can truly say I have no suggestions for improvement! My fellowship experience was incredible in every way!
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Chloe
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Atlantis Fellowship in Spain

The Atlantis Fellowship is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Not only are you able to shadow intelligent and outstanding doctors, but you are able to immerse yourself in a new culture that teaches as much as it does enlighten you. I am so glad I took a new step toward my medical career and went with the Atlantis Fellowship. The doctors are kind, encouraging, and genuinely care about your learning experience. I was able to see many operations and the doctor-patient interaction that is held in Spain. I plan to take some tips from these doctors as they were very reassuring and kind to their patients. The activities outside of the program left me speechless such as Park Guell, the Sagrada Familia, and Paddle boarding. I was also able to travel to Costa Brava for a weekend adventure and I have never seen such clear water. The program offers a lot of opportunities that I wouldn't give up for anything.

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?
I believe the most nerve-racking moments were spent in the hospital. It was scary not fluently speaking the doctors language. I felt alone and petrified that these intelligent superiors may find me to be a bother because we cannot fluently interact with each other. This was the complete opposite of the reactions I received from the doctors. They were warming and wanted nothing more than for me to learn from their day-to-day lives. We would use common words and when our English and Spanish did not match up, signs or Google Translate was utilized. I loved the experience of working through a language barrier.
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Keren
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Atlantis Fellowship - Barbastro, Spain

This fellowship was absolutely life-changing. It really affirmed my love for medicine and the future success I will have in my medical career. If you know you have a passion for medicine, or even if you aren't sure, Atlantis Fellowship will answer any concerns and questions so you leave knowing what you want to do with your career! During this fellowship, I was able to shadow surgeries while being in the OR with the surgeons performing the procedures and I was treated with respect as physicians were eager to teach so that I could actually learn while observing. The content I observed during this fellowship simply could not have been done in the United States, through the consults, to the Emergency Department, to the Operating Rooms, the obeservations were incredible and life-changing to witness.

What would you improve about this program?
The financial aid assistance was not that helpful. They only give a portion out and don't assist much with outside help. This fellowship is worth it, don't get me wrong, but it is also a financial burden.
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Quyen
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Atlantis Review

At the beginning I was very skeptical. Really all the way until my very first day of shadowing I was nervous about the program. It was pretty expensive to be honest and it toon a lot of time and energy to prepare for the program. So I was worried that at the end of it all it wouldn’t be worth it. It was my first time ever traveling alone and out of the country. The first day of shadowing really opened my eyes to see how beautiful it can be when science and care really come together. Not only are Atlantis staff really helpful but also the doctors and nurses in the hospital. On days where it was slow and I felt like I wasn’t getting the most out of it, I could go to anyone and ask to change that and they would. I would do it all again if I could. It was such a beautiful experience and so worth everything I put into it. You meet such amazing people along the way and make incredible connections. There are sometimes where you light not click with everyone either in your group or out, but it builds your social skills and your team building skills which is so important for the field of medicine. After just a week you become known in the hospital if you do it all right and you have people who ask you to come to their departments. The hours seem long on paper but my four weeks flew by and I feel like I still didn’t see and learn everything I could have. Atlantis has a lot to offer if you take the time to make the most of your time overseas.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
I was most surprised by how excited the doctors and nurses were to teach. Even if you didn’t know something or asked an excessive amount of questions they always answered and wanted to give you more and do more for you. It’s harder in the states to have this kind of attitude in the medical field but in my experience in Greece, every day was filled with so much conversation and knowledge.
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Hannah
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Atlantis- World Traveler Program

Atlantis is hands down one of the best things I have ever done. I loved the places I visited, the doctors I shadowed, the medical and cultural knowledge I gained, the life-long friendships I developed, and so much more. I have definitely grown as a person and student and learned so much about medicine through my fellowship! I also learned how to overcome language barriers with other people which will help in the medical field when I have patients without the same language. It was great to see other cultures and as a World Traveler, I was able to compare the health care systems and cultures of different countries not just to the United States but to each other as well! I am so grateful for Atlantis and I definitely think it helps to prepare fellows to be the best and most well-rounded health care professionals they can be.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
I got to see a leg amputation in Lithuania which I definitely did not expect to get the opportunity to see. It was so cool and solidified my interest in orthopedics or anything that has to do with bones to be honest!