One of the best experiences of my undergrad career - Viana do Castelo and Lisbon, Portugal

Shadowing was often 20+ hours per week across a broad range of specialties. My program managers responded very well to feedback and tried their best to get opportunities for us to shadow our top specialties. I was able to shadow specialties including general surgery, ICU, urology, psychiatry, neurosurgery, dermatology, the burn clinic, and pediatric anesthesiology. The physicians explained all of the procedures to us in English and were very welcoming. I discovered my passion for pediatrics through shadowing the pediatric anesthesiologist, and this experience really helped me confirm my desire to pursue a career in medicine.

The program directors were very involved and helpful. Carlos helped us practice our Portuguese whenever we’d order food or coffee and walked us to the hospital each day. He also messaged us throughout the day to make sure our shadowing experiences were going smoothly and always planned fun weekly excursions for us. Mari made me feel so safe and welcomed in Lisbon, giving us recommendations for restaurants to try or cool sites to visit. I even got to go to a few concerts for artists like A$AP Rocky because tickets were so cheap!

Housing was suite-style; I had a roommate who I knew before starting the program for the first half and had a room to myself for the second half. We shared a kitchen, living room, and bathroom and often cooked meals together :)