Amanda Waz, ’19, steps off a bus and finds herself at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Why is she in such a place? She has just arrived in Kaunas, Lithuania, the city in which she would study pre-med for the next three weeks.
Through a program called Atlantis Project, Waz was given the opportunity to choose Lithuania as her destination for studying. When she decided upon this location, she had no idea what would soon be in store for her.
Only 18 at the time, Waz had not had much hands-on experience in a hospital. When she began her studies at Kauno Klinikos – Kaunas Clinics in English – her skills were immediately put to the test. Each week, she would be studying in a different field. She started off her first week with OB-GYN where she was able to witness multiple births and C-sections and ended her trip studying with rehabilitation. Waz says that having the opportunity to practice and witness multiple fields of study, “definitely broadened (her) options.”
Photo courtesy of Amanda Waz
While many patients will be forever on her mind, one in particular sticks with her the most on an emotional level. Doctors have a great responsibility in the lives of their patients, and one false move can be life-changing. Waz witnessed a situation first-hand in which the doctor literally held the fate of his patient in his hands; she was viewing and learning about a natural birth and watched as the doctor delivered the baby. As the baby was being delivered, the doctor moved it incorrectly, leaving it with cerebral palsy. As difficult a situation as it was, Waz learned at this moment that bad results can happen at any time, and ultimately her role as a doctor is to just do the best she can.
Along with getting to experience the different fields of study, Waz was also able to see how the hospital conditions and health care systems differed in Lithuania. “I think the hardest part was the fact that they don’t pay for healthcare there and because of that… there were so many pregnant women sitting on the floor, attacking the doctor to be seen,” said Waz. She felt great sympathy toward these women, as they just wanted care for their unborn children.
While Waz is still struggling to decide which field to choose, she does know that she wants to be a surgeon in the military because according to her, “(she) definitely want to travel and be able to help people like that.” Her first impression of the trip was not too incredible, to say the least, but as it came to an end, she knew that having this opportunity to study in a foreign country had been beneficial to her in more ways than one.
