As shared in our recent post, Benefits of Rotating with a Friend, we are beginning to feature AMO visitors who come in pairs and even larger groups. During March, the AMO team had the privilege of spending time with AMO visitors Jaime and Krystel, both of whom participated in Chicago-based clinical experiences. The two are current medical students who call Ecuador home. While they were planning to participate in two clinical experiences, restrictions changed their plans. The two completed six weeks of clinical experience in the U.S.

Below we highlight Jaime’s pediatric clinical experience with AMO. Continue reading below to find out what aspects of rotating he liked best!

Chi-Town is My Town

Traveling to Chicago to attend a six-week pediatric clinical experience was one of the best things to happen during my many years of medical training. Like me, many foreign medical students are under the illusion that they know how the U.S. health system works. This experience allowed me to see the real thing. During my experience, I learned tons from my precepting physician, attended lectures at teaching hospitals, and met with diverse patients. All these experiences were extremely gratifying. Dr. A and her colleague, Dr. N, were kind and attentive during the rotation. They gave me essential advice on ways to improve our patient interaction skills. I am thankful to AMO for allowing me to see what pursuing my specialty in the U.S. would be like.

In addition to being able to learn from highly skilled medical professionals, I was also able to share the experience with other medical students. This allowed me to learn about different cultures and learn about diverse medical educational systems. During my free time, I was able to enjoy hobbies I picked up in my own country. I never missed my daily Crossfit workout.

For me, adapting to life in Chicago was easy. It is my favorite U.S. city, even with its cold weather. I so thankful there was an opportunity in Chicago, as that is the city where I would like to take the USMLE in the future.

Luckily I was able to be part of this medical rotation in the company of my best friend, Krystel. We both decided to choose AMO, and we now agree that it was a great decision. I consider that traveling to the U.S. with a friend from your medical school allows you to adapt to the new environment easier than when you do it alone, especially when you are out of your country for studies for the first time as we were, you will even learn about coexistence if you have not done it before in your country, in addition to that, you will save money by sharing household and food expenses. On our days off we enjoyed eating at different restaurants around the city, if you love steak, don’t forget to visit Mastro’s restaurant and ask for the New York strip steak medium rare. The food there is definitely a must! Can’t wait to be back in the U.S. for a similar, or even better, experience in the future.

AMO and their team made it all possible. They are a group of friendly individuals and who were willing to help me with any questions or problems that arose during my rotation. Ashley, my AMO coach, was kind and careful. She made sure that the whole process was carried out correctly. We had a couple of fun meetings with AMO, where my friend, Krystel, and I connected with other students who also chose to do clinical experiences through AMO.

Although my clinical experience ended early due to COVID-19 I would definitely choose AMO for another experience in the future. Thanks, AMO!


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