study abroad with history/sociology focus or premed clinical focus?

[nad7vx]

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i am planning on studying abroad for january term and i am faced with a tough choice and am hoping if guys could offer some perspective on it. i am a history/sociology major and am debating between 2 j-term summer courses. One is located in berlin where i will learn about german history and experience culture (something i would absolutely LOVE) and the other is in the west indies where i will be working with hospital staff in a ER setting and learning techniques and practices and volunteering in the ER and learning the medical situation there.

My issue is that i am a non-trad so i am not sure if taking yet another non-trad study abroad would hurt me or if i should jump on the clinical opportunity and take the west indies choice.

what is your take on my dilemma?

 

[ShenanigansMD]

Go to Germany, and make up for your clincal stuff either there or later, because you'll be doing medical stuff for the rest of your life.

 

[Jojokarade]

What I was told from several admission people (especially the University of Washington) is that they really like study abroad programs where you are fully interacting with the culture. That would be Germany for you. They went on to say that while good, they like clinical experiences abroad less because they would rather you gain clinical experiences in the U.S. where you will most likely be practicing. Both those opportunities sound amazing. It looks like you have some good clinical things going on here, so go to Germany and experience the culture. Good luck.

 

[alec10983]

Definitely the German route! It seems like you truly are passionate about History and this would only show that even more. Will be a great way to show that passion and this will definitely come up in interviews, I would love to talk to someone that is experiencing German History! As for clinical, this def trumps abroad clinical experience. You have many chances to get that in, this german route is probably a once in a lifetime thing!!

 

[TwistinD]

I did a study abroad in Copenhagen called "medical practice and policy" and it was the best time of my life. There was a lot of exposure to culture as well as the comparative aspects of socialized medicine to our system in the usa (esp interesting to have experienced in light of recent healthcare changes). We went on trips to Stockholm and Estonia (could have picked Poland/Germany instead) and shadowed in clinics there. I even ended up going back for the summer to do courses on infectious diseases and got to volunteer in local AIDS clinics. Finally, taking their course on biomedical ethics led me to pursuing a master's degree in the topic after graduating from undergrad, and both experiences combined definitely have helped shaped the type of medical career I want for my future.

I disagree that adcoms wont like a medically-related study abroad - through my own experiences, the greater perspective you gain is highly admired. Obviously if you have other academic interests you should spend time pursuing them too. Im so dedicated and interested in medicine that this opportunity was invaluable, and I loved relating the cultural differences to medicine. My favorite part was the fact that by the end of my program, I was able to translate patient histories from Danish to English. Relating to all types of cultures and being able to handle international populations is an important value I have and want to hone as a clinician.

Its possible that the West Indies study abroad program has a different approach than the one I did. My school was affiliated with both the University of Copenhagen as well as the University of Minnesota (that way we could get our credits to count back here 👍), and our structure was mostly about shadowing, learning basic clinical skills, and taking med courses.

Bottom line - Do what makes you the most passionate.

Edit: I should also say that I have a wealth of clinical experience beyond just this program, so I did the program mostly out of interest and not a need to make up clinical hours or volunteering.

 

[TipToad]

This one is easy.

Do what you love.

 

[Badger MD]

GO TO GERMANY! I spent a semester in Bonn and a bit of Bavaria, and it was ammmaazzzinnng.

But one thing to note, do you speak German? I'm not sure how bad the Berlin/Brandenburg area is, but people who didn't speak German got some flack from the locals in Bavaria. It wasn't anything too serious, but store clerks would definitely make them the butt of jokes for the other native customer's entertainment.

 

[HughMyron]

Yolo mang, yolo.


That should give you the answer you seek.

 

[nad7vx]

thanks so much for the replies. i was wondering if you guys think if that study abroad to west indies can be considered clinical volunteering? or is that strictly a study abroad?

 

[OREdwardsJR]

That Germany trip sounds really fun but I think I would personally go to the West Indies for the experience. However, if you feel that your clinical experience is good enough then go ahead and go to Germany.

 

[nad7vx]

my clinical experience is pretty cookie cutter. i got the shadowing, hospital volunteering, hospice volunteering. the only "extra" thing is that i am a scribe that works 10 hrs/week.

do you think going to west indies would give me that extra push on my clinical experience portion of my application?

 

[nad7vx]

anyone?

sorry for commenting twice, but i am really looking for other opinions.