I am considering doing an abroad internship in Spain for 6 weeks this summer. I would be assisting and shadowing doctors during my time there. Would this be viewed negatively because of COVID? I think it would be a really great experience and I would gain a lot of different perspectives on medicine. But I am worried that admissions could view this as unnecessary travel during the pandemic. I have my vaccine and would not be doing the typical travel people do while abroad. Thoughts?
Internship Abroad
- Thread starter j_lo
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What similar experiences do you have in the US?
Aren’t the borders closed for this kind of stuff?
There is a pandemic. When are you planning to apply?
Aren’t the borders closed for this kind of stuff?
There is a pandemic. When are you planning to apply?
My university is offering it this June-July. I don't believe the borders are closed for this. I am currently doing medical scribing and medical interpreting. I have also done a case management internship and shadowed several doctos.
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Well you could do it for the experience and for comparing what the differences are between the two health systems. I’m not sure I’d include the hours. But you can talk about the experience. International travel is a wonderful experience and is important in life. As long as you have your other ECs taken care of you should be fine.
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Horrible idea before COVID, straight up unethical during COVID. The EU is having major issues with vaccine supply chains and is lagging behind the US in vaccinations so it’s not fair to anyone involved for you to do this. Also, if you want to see how medicine works in Spain, that’s fine, but that’s really only worthwhile if 1) you want to practice in Spain or 2) you are curious about different medical systems abroad. Reason 2 is a great reason and something I am personally passionate about, but it’s not something I would put on a medical school or residency application without being involved in an official organization involved in international medical student or physician exchanges/conferences/etc. Such organizations exist but what you are doing sounds like 100% medical tourism.
