Many university students look forward to the summer to get out of the classroom environment and to be able to do everything they don't do during the academic year. And that's why this past summer, with the intention of adding a little extra to my vacation, I decided to sign up for two activities offered by the University of Navarra abroad for students in the School of Medicine.
The first one was a Summer Course, which is held every summer for both first and second year students belonging to the International Program in Medicine. This past year it was organized at Imperial College London and a Clinical Neurology subject was taught. During this experience I had the opportunity to learn and reinforce knowledge from past courses while sharing good times with my fellow students, all in a city with so many alternatives as London. The classes were in the morning with lunch breaks. In them, we learned both theoretical concepts and practical issues that are extremely useful for a health professional. There was no shortage of advice from experiential lectures by professors who told us about their own experiences and encouraged us to follow in their footsteps. It was after the talk of a researcher invited by the university that I took the opportunity to ask her about my next trip, which coincides with my second exchange experience in my summer. Of all the things I took away from London, I would highlight, independently of all the good things I learned, the opportunity to get to know my degree program classmates in more depth, as the bond that is created is not even close to the one during the course.
My second experience abroad last summer also came from the university, which every summer organizes research stays and clinical rotations in a wide variety of places and programs. I spent a month in a laboratory at the University of Kansas, involved in a project trying to find a cure for ALS. Throughout the first few days I spent my time shadowing the project researcher and trying to learn all about this therapy so that I could get up to speed and gradually be able to take on tasks on my own. During my stay, my laboratory encouraged me to take the animal training course offered by the University of Kansas. With this training course I was able to access the animal facility and do neurological assessments of the mice to follow up on the treatment. My stay in Kansas was a very enriching experience, not only in the academic aspect but also in the staff. During this time, I learned many new techniques, acquired a lot of knowledge and internship experience and had the opportunity to do it surrounded by very experienced professionals who were always close to solve any of my doubts.
Finally, I believe that until you go out and internship everything you learn in the classroom, you don't know what you are capable of. During the summer I discovered that my degree program goes beyond that and that traveling abroad to learn new things has made me realize how great my profession can be.
