Need help with choosing between summer plans!

[kiddynamite914]

So this summer I have two options.

1) As president of an organization, I have the option of going to Teach and Travel in India or Turkey. However, I already taught for 2 years so I was planning on shadowing in Turkey or India, based on whichever is the destination that we end up choosing

OR I can...

2) Stay in the US and shadow at local hospitals. I already got the OK from a Cardiac Surgeon at a local hospital.

What would you guys recommend? Are there any pluses to shadowing out of the country?

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[ProudMD]

Option 2. Shadowing foreign physicians in a foreign country really doesn't count for much when it comes to US medical school applications.

 

[vellez]

I was gonna say that shadowing foreign doctors doesn't usually count towards shadowing. Anyway, I'd say option two. Shadowing a cardiac surgeon would be a really cool opportunity--props for arranging that!

 

[NervousWreck6]

I agree with the above two posts. Unless you want to practice abroad in India or Turkey in the future I would suggest that you stay in the U.S. for application purposes.

 

[chemist16]

However, if you already have enough shadowing hours, I think that volunteering at a health clinic or even just observing at one in such developing nations would be a really personally rewarding experience. In the next couple of decades, India and Turkey will have booming economies and will demand a whole lot of healthcare. Somebody who understands the country and culture could really make a difference in setting up the kind of health infrastructure we have in developed countries. But it might not help a whole lot on med school apps. It's all up to you.