A Missouri University of Science and Technology student has been accepted into the Atlantis Project, a premedical studies exchange program that allows college students to witness medical practices in a different country.

Claire Brewer, a junior in biological sciences from Troy, Missouri, will shadow medical doctors at a general practice hospital in Almansa, Spain for five weeks. The Atlantis Project aims to confirm the participants’ interest in medicine and expand their knowledge of the field to international practice.

Brewer will spend a week at a time with different specialist depending on her expressed interests. She will shadow professionals throughout the week and have weekends free to study or explore the local community.

“Claire will get to experience the medical practice outside the United States, expanding her perspective about how to help people,” says Dr. Julie Semon, assistant professor of biological sciences at Missouri S&T. “I couldn’t think of better applicant to the program, due to her experience in both the laboratory and in her non-classroom work.”

Brewer already has experience in the medical field. During the summer, she worked 13-hour shifts as a medical scribe in the emergency room (ER) at Phelps County Regional Medical Center. When not taking notes for ER doctors, Brewer chats with the visiting medical students to learn more about medical school and the application process.

“I decided to be a doctor when I was really young,” says Brewer. “You are hearing about a person’s intimate histories and stories, and earn their trust. They let you heal them, which requires a special bond that is built between two people.”

The Atlantis Project offers accepted applicants one- to eight-week fellowships during semester breaks to travel to countries such as Spain, Italy and Argentina to shadow medical professionals. The project aims to expand students’ perspectives while exposing them to on-the-job training. By the end of the fellowship, students have a better idea if medicine is the correct path for them to pursue.

“It can be pretty intense in the emergency room, but if you can survive and thrive in that environment you are in the right field,” says Brewer. “The trip will hopefully reaffirm my call to join the medical profession.”