A Look Abroad: A former Eastern student shares about a study abroad program

By: Katherine Seeley

Students looking for immersive learning experiences, one of the greatest parts about Eastern, are able to find many options here. DoctorsinItaly, a program offered through Eastern, is located in Europe at the Bocconi University with various cities in Italy having different shadowing hospital programs. DoctorsinItaly is a health-tech startup that was launched by Bocconi University. 

This fellowship program was established in 2018 and is tailored to different health professions. People who join this program can combine intensive clinical rotations at hospitals in Rome, Milan, Bologna and Genoa. Kailey McGovern, an Eastern graduate, is one of the students who has attended this program. Her mission is to internationalize healthcare, making it more accessible through technology. 

“In May of 2022, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to do a two-week fellowship program in one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the world Rome, Italy,” she said. “Through this, I was able to experience different fields of medicine, including dermatology, cardiology, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, plastic surgery and more.”

McGovern goes on to say that developing a strong relationship with each of the physicians was a main component of this experience. “During my experience, there were a total of 10 fellows all coming from North and South America,” she explained. “The diversity of the students further enhanced the program and allowed for an intense cultural experience.”

She explained how she found the program through her advisor and it is easily accessible through shadows.doctorsinitaly.com. There are different programs that offer a two, three, four or five week program depending on what the student is looking for. “This is great for a student looking for immersive showing hours and depending on the program you can obtain 40-90 shadowing hours.” 

The 5 week program is great for college students looking for credit because you can apply the hours you take for accredited hours, while also learning about Italian healthcare. 

“This experience showed me the difference between American healthcare and universal healthcare in Europe resulting in a much different interaction between patient and healthcare providers,” she said. “From what I experienced in Italy the hospital, along with the physicians, had a much more relaxed lifestyle than those in America. This allowed for more learning opportunities and the patients were very appreciative of our desire to learn about healthcare.” 

The program had managers which were Roman citizens who helped them easily navigate the city. While learning in these intensive programs for hours, McGovern still had some time out of the hospital to experience Italian culture. 

“Outside of the days in the hospital, which were typically 4 days a week, other fellows and I had the opportunity to immerse ourselves into Italian culture with cuisine, museums, cooking classes, cathedrals and beautiful Roman architecture,” she said.

Wrapping up our time together, McGovern explained how she is currently in the process of applying to Physician Assistant programs in the Philadelphia area. While she is doing that, she is working as a medical assistant for dermatology to practice getting hands-on clinical experience. 

If this is something students are interested in, they can contact their Eastern advisor, view the website,  shadows.doctorsinitaly.com to find out more about the program or contact Martina@doctorsinitaly.com.