Program Reviews

This was my first time traveling to Spain, and I absolutely loved it! My group instantly bonded, and Atlantis provided both excursions and spectacular meals at restaurants around Barcelona, which had some of the best architecture I have ever seen. Our residency was also located in the heart of Barcelona! Every night, we were able to explore another part of Barcelona. This program confirmed that I want to become a physician. If you are considering traveling to Barcelona and want to shadow physicians, I highly recommend it!

I believe my experience in Spain was amazing. I was able to meet so many great people on the trip. I was able to connect with students like me and learn from their medical and research experiences. I was able to travel with them and make life-lasting memories. I also had amazing site managers who I learned so much from. They were able to expose me to the culture and answer any questions that I had. Apart from the traveling experience from which I got to see and experience many new things, eat good food, and learn about the country; the shadowing experience was incredible as well. The doctors who I was able to shadow were so nice and so open to teaching. They answered all of my questions and let me stand right next to the OR table. I truly believe this was the most information I was exposed to and was able to learn in a short time span. I believe the trip was planned in a really great and efficient way. I liked how Atlantis incorporated traveling and sightseeing time with shadowing hours. I also really liked how we were able to pick the specialties that we wanted to shadow. I am so grateful for my trip to Spain and hope to travel with Atlantis again and gain more shadowing hours in another country!

As someone who speaks Spanish at home, I wanted the chance to immerse myself in patient care in Spanish which is why I chose to shadow abroad in Spain. Completing this was made so easy with Atlantis and also surpassed by expectations. I got to see not only specialties I was interested in but also some I hadn't even considered such as surgery. This experience has just made me more confident that this is the career path that I want to pursue. (PS: Knowing Spanish is not required but can be helpful!)

Being in Spain over the summer was an amazing experience socially (meeting locals and fellow students) as well as professionally (hands-on experience working in the field I want to pursue). I would highly recommend this opportunity for any who likes to travel and who wants to further develop their career. The program also offers a great way to network with fellow peers and industry experts. The quality of life was also quite high with amazing housing facilities, curated group outings, and meals at local restaurants!

I did my program in Pavia, Italy (a small city 20-30 minutes south of Milan) over summer 2022. This experience honestly changed my life, as I grew to be exponentially more passionate about the field of medicine than I ever had been before. I learned so much about healthcare in Europe, met so many amazing people who had similar goals as me, and was able to experience living abroad in such a meaningful way. The medical system in Italy allowed me to see more than I ever could in the United States, as it was way less strict. I was able to stand over the surgeon's shoulder as he performed open-heart surgery. I would promote this program for all who are interested, as it truly was unforgettable!

I completed 80 AAMC-compliant physician shadowing hours through the Atlantis Clinical Fellowship at Gennimatas General Hospital in Athens, Greece. My experience shadowing physicians in Athens, Greece, at Gennimatas Hospital was invaluable and gave me a fundamental understanding of what I hope to specialize in as a future physician. Through this experience, I not only embraced the ethical responsibility of learning from doctors through observation but also gained exposure to global healthcare. I learned how to overcome cultural communication barriers in my interactions with clinicians and recognized the subtle peculiarities of a foreign hospital. I built upon my critical thinking skills and utilized scientific inquiry as I followed along with surgical procedures and witnessed each unique doctor-patient interaction. I recently applied to medical schools in the United States through AMCAS, and I am currently completing several interviews for admission. When filling out my medical school applications, I described what I learned from my clinical fellowship with Atlantis and how it reinforced my passion for becoming a physician. This experience is a staple of my pre-med journey. From my clinical fellowship, I know a career in medicine is the only career path that I desire.

I had the pleasure to travel to Sibenik, Croatia Summer of 2022. I came across this program through a school program at UT Austin and my application process was a bit different than most people who go on this experience. I do believe it was an easier application process but the experience I believe was the equivalent to any other program. Our site manager, Ena, was so thoughtful and attentive to our needs. Although a bit chaotic, the hospital was so open to teaching us about their day-to-day lives. On top of the great shadowing experience, we also got to wander the small town of Sibenik and interact with the sweet locals. Our weekend excursions planned by Ena were something to look forward to because it was a day filled with fun activities and yummy food. Overall, all my interactions with the Atlantis program have been positive and I am thankful I had the chance to partake on such an amazing trip.

I shadowed with Atlantis in 2019 and cannot recommend it enough! As a pre-med student that really struggled finding clinical experience, this was exactly what I needed. I was able to see different specialties that helped me decide what type of medicine I wanted to pursue. Additionally, this was one of the only ways that I was able to have a real travel abroad experience while I balanced a pre-med course load. When I applied to medical school, this was the experience that everyone wanted to know more about. I will be attending medical school this upcoming fall and Atlantis is the biggest reason for that! 10/10 go if you can!!

I did a 3-week long fellowship in Lisboa, Portugal Summer 2018, and left with an idea of what I finally want to do in medicine. This was a huge leap of faith considering this was my very first time on a plane anywhere, but I wouldn’t change it for the world! On my official first day in the hospital I saw a Tonsillectomy and the insertion of Tympanostomy tubes in the ears of pediatric patients. Over the next few weeks I also saw additional surgical procedures and consultations. I felt I saw more shadowing in Portugal as an undergraduate than in the U.S.
The excursions were amazing, I finally got to explore castles and scenic locations. The castles were beautiful, and the city itself was an architectural marvel. I explored a lot of Portugal alone, and saw some very interesting places. I even became friends with some locals and keep in contact with them today! This trip was a dream come true and educational at the same time. I honestly felt safer walking around in Portugal than back home, and the natives are very nice.

I did a 3 week trip to Coimbra Portugal this past summer, and I can say that it is the most valuable and fun experience I have had. The opportunity to see all types of medicine including surgery was astounding. The country is beautiful and exploring the country was breathtaking. This trip allowed me to gain experience medically and culturally which I do not believe I could of received in the US. I recommend this trip to anyone who has even the slightest interest in medicine. I would go on this trip and The Atlantis program over and over if I was able to.