Submitted by Rachel Magee on the 2018 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the College of Health Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences…
Trieste, Italy is a city with a wide variety of cultures including Italian, Austrian and Slovenian. My study abroad program partnered up with the Atlantis Project, which offers the opportunity to shadow doctors in hospitals and see how different forms of healthcare operate. My first week was spent shadowing an amazing surgeon, Doctor Martonelli, who took the time to explain everything he did in English and made sure I fully understood. He allowed me to observe the removal of a lymph node in the operating room and taught in English even though there were other medical students observing who spoke Italian. I was able to make a good connection with this doctor and the intern who worked under him, Dr. De Luca. They were very helpful in answering all of my questions especially when it came to explaining how public health care works effectively and what parts do not work well.