Tourism has always been an important industry with one-in-ten people globally employed in the sector. World Tourism Day celebrates tourism’s contributions to other sectors, including progressive efforts in labor and human rights movements that led to more leisure and holiday time for workers.

Although the tourism industry struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic, it has proven resilient. Although not fully recovered, World Tourism Day is a little more hopeful this year with the release of multiple Covid-19 vaccines that has built the foundation for global resistance against the virus and allowed countries to loosen their travel restrictions. This year, AMO is celebrating World Tourism Day by looking outside the clinic doors at what the other side an AMO rotation has to offer: adventure.

For a lot of our visitor’s, their USCE is their first time in the United States. Although the main priority is of course attention to their medical education, rotation schedules still leave downtime for exploring and sightseeing. This past summer, Chicago, Miami, and New York City were the three most popular cities for our summer visitors. Below, we take a look at what these cities have to offer on the outside of the clinical site.

 

Chicago, Illinois

The home of AMOpportunities, Chicago is the third largest city in the United States. Nestled against the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, the city has a little bit for everyone. Aside from its most well-known attractions–its museums or Michigan Mile, the city’s main shopping strip–Chicago has a great theater scene as well as options for those looking to get outdoors.

Just west of Millennium Park, Chicago’s theater district is home to numerous theaters, including Auditorium Theater, Cadillac Place Theater, and many others that put on Broadway in Chicago‘s direct-from-Broadway productions. Similar to theater, Chicago also has a bustling comedy scene. It is the city where many famous comedians, such Stephen Colbert, Bill Murray, Amy Poehler, Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Aidy Bryant, and Chris Redd, found success at Second City before moving on to SNL, The Daily Show, or film and television.

Although Chicago is a large city, nature is never far away. With Lake Michigan’s horizon-reaching waters, turn your back to the city’s skyline and you could easily think you’re ocean side. Take advantage of spectacular views, cool off in fresh water, or soak up some rays at any one of the numerous beaches along the city’s shoreline.

Looking for something a little more active? Chicago has a wonderful network of biking trails and nature routes, including the 18 mile Lakefront Trail, which stretches alongside the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Interested in rotating in the Windy City? Search our Chicago-based clinical experiences.

Miami, Florida

It is no surprise to see Miami on our list of popular summer rotation spots. The city has so much to offer. Located in southeast Florida along the coast of the Atlantic ocean, Miami is known for its warm weather and beaches. However, Miami is not your typical coastal town. The city’s reputation also includes its bustling nightlife and a culture largely influenced by its Cuban roots. On that note, can we recommend the food?

Like Chicago, Miami is also a great spot for getting out into the nature–or at least out of the city. Everglade’s National Park, a subtropical wetland of diverse ecosystems, is roughly 40 miles or a one-hour drive from downtown Miami. Just south of Miami, you’ll find the Overseas Highway, a 113 stretch of U.S. Route 1 that connects the Florida Keys. A trip from Miami to the highway’s end in Key West might be a lengthy drive, but if you can make the time in your rotation schedule, it is regarded as one of the country’s most iconic road trips and includes mesmerizing sights such as the Seven Mile Bridge and the small, yet quirky and often photographed Mile Marker Zero.

Why else is it no surprise that Miami is a popular city for our visitors? Because Miami is the home of two world-renowned universities proudly partnered with AMOpportunities, The University of Miami and Florida International University. These partnerships create opportunities for international medical graduates to rotate at and earn a letter of recommendation from academic affiliated programs.

Does a rotation in Miami sound up like a day at the beach? Take stroll through our Miami clinical experiences and be sure your sunscreen is packed.

Also, have we recommended the food?

 

New York City, New York

The Big Apple. “New York, New York.” The City that Never Sleeps.

Whatever you call it (or how you sing it), New York City wraps up our list of things to do in Summer 2021’s most popular rotation cities. To most, New York City probably needs no introduction. Not only is it the U.S.’s largest city, but more films are set in New York than any other city. It may be easier to list what New York City doesn’t have to offer than it is to list all things there are to do.

But on second thought, finding something the city doesn’t have seems equally difficult.

If you’re in the mood for art and culture, the city has an endless list of museums, including well-known institutions like The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, The Frick Collection. Don’t over look New York’s contributions to music and check out the National Jazz Museum and the Hip Hop Hall of Fame in Harlem or the New York Jazz Museum in Manhattan.

If it’s your first time in New York City, it might be important to do some sightseeing of iconic landmarks. The Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Ellis Island, Central Park, Times Square, and the Brooklyn Bridge are just a handful of New York City’s must-see land marks for first time visitors.

If shopping is more your style, make your way to iconic shopping strips, such as Fifth Avenue in Midtown, Madison Avenue (the U.S.’s largest shopping district), SoHo, or make your way to Park Slope in Brooklyn.

New York might just have it all. Top your visit off with a Broadway show and a dinner at any of the city’s numerous iconic restaurants and you should find yourself returning home both well trained in your medical specialty and well-rounded in your U.S experience.

There’s a lot to explore in New York, begin by exploring our New York clinical experiences.

 

Interested in a rotation somewhere else? With over 250 clinical experiences across the U.S., get back in the travel mindset this World Tourism Day with AMO. Explore more at amopportunities.org.