Atlantis Fellowship - Genova Italy

I am very very satisfied with my shadowing experience abroad in Italy. At first, I did have my concerns as the AAMC shows statistics and discourages students from SHADOWING abroad due to the risk of students being involved in medical procedures. I would like to clear this doubt for those who are interested in this fellowship as Atlantis is VERY VERY strict and abides by their policy of no physical fellow-patient interaction. Atlantis is very clear with all the rules that must be followed etc. That being said, the fellowship was incredible. I was able to shadow under general surgery, urology, and vascular surgery. All of these departments always had surgeries or patients and all the hospital staff were incredibly helpful. Though some of the hospital staff did not speak english, many if not all residents spoke english and were able to explain procedures to you if the attending surgeon was busy. Many of these doctors are incredibly well trained and have excellent english so language barrier is usually not a problem.

Aside from shadowing, the weekly excursions (I don't want to spoil them if you are attending the fellowship) were very very fun. There's a lot of pictures to be taken and a lot of friendships to be made and it was quite the experience. Genova is very very scenic with mountains, beaches (mostly rocky but you can still find sandy beaches), and architecture. Genova is known for their pesto and I really really recommend you try it.

The Atlantis fellowship is expensive but provides you an experience that is priceless. I was able to pay for this through fundraising, asking family members, working a part-time job, and a little bit of assistance from my parents. This really has taught me good saving/spending habits for my future.