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[deleted910838]

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[Goro]

Is every situation of shadowing doctors overseas (cardiologists in Finland, in this case) going to be ignored/frowned upon and considered medical tourism?

I lived there for many years of my life when I was young and have gone yearly during breaks all of my life, and I regularly shadow a few doctors there. It just has worked out well since I'm there most of the summers anyways and have learned a lot and built close relationships with everyone there.

Will it not count for much/be looked down upon? Should I just stick with docs in the U.S.? All my volunteering and research has been done in the U.S.

If you're going to practice medicine int he US, then shadow and do your ECs in the US.

 

[3toedsloth]

I think that a strong connection to the country is not medical tourism. Do you have family in Finland? Do you speak Finnish? How long are you usually there in the summer? Are you noting Finland as your place of birth on your application?

The answers to these questions will answer if this is medical tourism. You aren't going to Finland for two weeks to take pictures of yourself with local people while you wear a stethoscope/scrubs.

I think the more frowned on situations are the 2-3 weeks medical tourism in Central America or West Africa, and the "shadowing" for 900 hours of some random uncle in India.

As long as this is only one of your many shadowing experiences, it's fine. Make sure you shadow at least 2x as much in the US.

 

[LAIsTheBestPlaceEver]

If it helps you, I have a decent amount of overseas experiences, and even listing one of them as one of my three most meaningful activities

- Missionary clinic trips to Tijuana, Mexico to help the local disadvantage, homeless, and deported the population with donations, medications. Sometimes few doctors, nurses, medical students will tag along and we have a mini-clinic.
- I taught two weeks of health, math, and sciences to children from near-by 16 villages in an elementary school in a rural mountain area in China. I also assisted in their monthly opening clinic, which composed out of 1 doctors and 1 nurse, some volunteers. Some experiences I gained from this activity actually are in my personal statement.
- I was a medical translator in a major hospital in a city in China, which then turned into a clinical volunteer/shadow/intern experience. This is so impactful to me personally, not just in medicine but to my entire personal growth.

*I do speak Chinese fluently and have roots in China, but no, I am not international.


I understand where admin's concern and perspective. However, I think if the activity is meaningful to you, go ahead and list it. However, I definitely agree with Goro in terms of whether you can using it as shadowing. I think you should definitely get some shadowing in the States! 🙂

 

[SouthernGent]

Make sure you have experience Stateside first and foremost. If you have strong connections to the area or an organization (i.e. Church) that does a lot of aid work there, than it shouldn't be a problem as long as you explain it. School I interviewed at had multiple faculty who were big on providing medical care out-of-country to certain regions on yearly trips. My guess is the school doesn't view those faculty as medical tourists.

 

[dr.grenouille]

I shadowed doctors in the country that my family’s from one summer during college. I listed it as part of my shadowing experiences and talked about how I became interested in differences among health systems in different countries and how it all ties in to my overall goals. Every interviewer that asked me about it seemed genuinely interested and we had good conversations about what I saw and experienced. I understand the deep dislike for medical tourism on SDN, I really do, but sometimes they go too far. Just use common sense, don’t spend thousands of dollars on a trip abroad just to “shadow and assist” physicians, but if you’re visiting family or going to a country you’re familiar with and frequently visit, go ahead and shadow, and figure out an interesting way to talk about it if it ever comes up.

 

[Catalystik]

As long as this is only one of your many shadowing experiences, it's fine. Make sure you shadow at least 2x as much in the US.

I agree. Don't feel compelled to list all the acquired Finnish shadowing hours on your application, if getting twice as many in the US would be near impossible.

 

[Tenk]

Finland isn’t a third world country. The reason I think most people roll their eyes at premeds who go to third world countries for medical missions is because they go there and take Instagram pictures of them “saving” lives when in fact they aren’t helping anything long term. Going to a European country you have a connection to just to observe the health care system is great and is not tourism so much as a useful experience. You can then compare and contrast their system with ours in interviews which you will probably be asked to do. I had a similar experience where I went to Beijing for a year. Definitely an eye opening experience.

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

Then what do I do with it in terms of applying?

My ECs are in the U.S., I have done research in the U.S., and shadowed (only a bit so far) in the U.S. (which was hardly different from Finland, doctors over there just let me see and learn much more). I was born there and lived there, it's not some sort of program but if it is actually pointless in terms of applying or for getting a rec letter from then I want to know if I should just omit it from my application.

You should include it. According to @gonnif international activities hurt when applicants displace international workers or have inappropriate tasks they aren’t qualified for. Passive shadowing doesn’t fit that description (especially since you are natively Finnish). So it won’t hurt you. With regards to being pointless or worthy, that depends on the school. I’m willing to bet a good number of schools will appreciate it. So overall, it benefits you to put it on the application if you have less than 15 slots filled already.

 

[Goro]

Then what do I do with it in terms of applying?

My ECs are in the U.S., I have done research in the U.S., and shadowed (only a bit so far) in the U.S. (which was hardly different from Finland, doctors over there just let me see and learn much more). I was born there and lived there, it's not some sort of program but if it is actually pointless in terms of applying or for getting a rec letter from then I want to know if I should just omit it from my application.

IF you have US shadowing in numbers > the Finnish, then it will be OK to mention. But don't put to much stock in it.