Florida A&M University second-year biology/pre-med student Kiah Hill, studied abroad in Talavera de la Reina, Toledo Spain March 4-16. The Miami native was the only FAMU student and the only student from Florida to attend the Atlantis Project.
By being a third-generation rattler, Hill knew she was coming to FAMU. With an interest in human anatomy, she decided to study biology.
“I chose to be a biology student because I want to be a doctor. I've wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember. I think the human body is interesting and I love to help people, so being a doctor was the nature choice because it incorporated both of those things,” Hill said.
In September, Hill's interest was piqued after she saw a flyer for the Atlantis Project, an abroad shadowing program in which students shadow doctors all over Europe.
"I thought it was interesting because I've always wanted to go abroad and through this program, I could shadow doctors while at the same time experiencing a new culture,” Hill said.
She applied during Christmas break, and was accepted by the end of January. Hill was assigned to Spain during spring break.
“The first two days I shadowed a general surgeon, and the next three days I shadowed doctors in the emergency room. We were just allowed to observe. We could not do any procedures or operations,” Hill said.
There were seven students at her site and when they were not at the hospital, they had free time to walk around and explore the town.
Hill said there was a plethora of memorable moments, both educational and non educational.
“One moment I loved was when I had a rotation in the ER and there was a code blue, which means a cardiac arrest. Everyone in the room dropped everything they were doing and started to attend to this one patient. It turns out it wasn't a real code blue, but I could really tell how much all the doctors and nurses cared about their patients,” Hill expressed.
Hill’s next step is to apply to medical school, and her ultimate goal is to become an obstetrician and gynecologist specializing in maternal medicine as well as having her own practice.
She suggested that FAMU students should apply to the Atlantis Project or any study abroad program.
“It was amazing to experience another culture with new people while still doing something educational, and it was so beautiful. It was so different from the U.S. and the people and doctors were so nice and caring even though there was a language barrier. I would recommend all science majors that want to go to medical school to apply. It is an experience I will never forget,” Hill said.
For more information on the Atlantis Project, go to http://www.atlantis-project.org.