international experience

[caffeine37]

A couple questions: I volunteered for a summer abroad in a medical setting. This had a big impact on me, and I am using it as fodder for my personal statement. The only problem is, I read here on SDN that it is a good idea to get a letter of rec from the physician(s) you shadowed. Unfortunately, this was done abroad in a foreign language, so getting a letter from the physician I worked with is near impossible. I could get a letter from the program supervisor, but they had little interaction with me throughout the summer, and don't knwo exactly what I did. I could get a letter from a physician I shadowed here in the US, but it was for a shorter period of time, and it didn't really impact me as much. What do you all think I should do?

also, I am interested in working in international medicine, and I am wondering how people would recommend answering the interview question "why go abroad when there are problems with US healthcare?" I had a friend who was asked that and it tripped him up.

Thanks again!

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[dopaminophile]

If you're using a letter service through your school or elsewhere, go talk to the director of the service and see if you can pay to have a translator rewrite the letter. They could then send both the original and the translation to schools without you ever seeing the recommendation. I think it could be done very well, especially if this person has direct contact with you.

My volunteer time overseas was the centerpiece of my PS and interviews. While I was never asked that question specifically, you might consider mentioning that doing volunteer work in the US and overseas isn't mutually exclusive. You can work on problems in US healthcare and work to improve problems elsewhere. In fact, working to improve both would only strengthen your capacity in both. My initial response when I read that was that the problems in the US pale in comparison to the problems in the world's poorest countries, but you don't want to belittle the problems we do have here. Also, you can just say that you enjoy a variety of experiences and it's an aweful lot of fun to go someplace completely different than your home. There's no problem at all in talking about what you get out of it.