should I intern abroad?

[hoops90]

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I am thinking about interning abroad in Nicaragua for January 2013, in which I would work as an orderly and also observe the daily activities in a hospital. I am going to apply to MD and DO schools. How would doing an internship in another country make someone a more competitive medical school candidate?

I should mention that I want to specialize in Family Medicine and practice in a HPSA in the U.S.

 

[Catalystik]

Application-wise, you would be far better off helping the folks at home and becoming familiar with US hospital policies and US patients than spending money to travel abroad. Doing so would be a great cultural adventure and would sharpen up your medical Spanish, but you will still need US medical faciltiy experience.

 

[hoops90]

To medical students, residents, and fully-licensed physicians:

1. Did you ever participate in a medically-related internship abroad as a pre-medical student?

2. If so, why did you decide to participate in this internship?

3. Did this experience benefit you?

 

[aSagacious]

Merging related threads.

 

[kkuhn]

Application-wise, you would be far better off helping the folks at home and becoming familiar with US hospital policies and US patients than spending money to travel abroad. Doing so would be a great cultural adventure and would sharpen up your medical Spanish, but you will still need US medical faciltiy experience.

I dunno, I think the "cultural adventure" part might yield a bigger advantage than one might think... Most schools are falling over themselves about global health/medical Spanish/etc, so if you have experience in that it'll be a big plus. But, US experience probably does trump that, as Catalystik says.

Plus, application boosts aside, you're going to learn so much more from this international experience than you would filing charts and carrying samples at a US hospital. You're going to get to do more, you're going to see a lot of scary things, and you're going to be changed a lot by the patients you meet.

I wrote an entire essay about my international experiences. I don't know if I could have done the same with a four-week stint in a US hospital. *shrug*

 

[NakedSnake]

Hey, ive actually lived in Nicaragua most of my life, that said, what Hospital would you be interning in?

 

[hoops90]

I don't know the name of the hospital, but I know it's in Ocotal.

 

[NakedSnake]

hmmm we'll ocotal is pretty "rural" like its a city but third world standards..having of said that, you'll be pretty close to the border with Honduras and nearest "big " city would be Esteli , they have a pretty decent hospital. I cant comment as to what type of tangibles you'll get out of the experience, but being exposed to a third world country reality really shifts your way of seeing things.From that point of view alone id say do it,however others have said it may affect your chances here in the US, cant comment about that. Expect to see lots of easily preventable diseases (such as diarrhea, or stuff caused by malnutrition or lack of sanitation). You'll be dealing with many infectious diseases. Hope that helps!

 

[Barcu]

There are plenty of struggling people here in the US, and you can get some pretty good Spanish immersion too. Look for low-income clinics here. It's easier to have sustained involvement, plus many are so understaffed, they welcome volunteers and you could potentially do a lot (I got trained as a medical assistant).

If you really want to help out abroad, wait until med school. Better yet, wait until you are residency-trained and can make a real difference.

I think it can help you. However, I would wager you could get a much better experience here in the US.