Do you have dreams of becoming a physician but also an itch to travel the world? With all the years and long shifts required to pursue a career in medicine, it may seem like you\u2019re confined within the sterile walls of a hospital. However, with advancing technology and growing demands overseas, doctors are now more transient than ever, practicing medicine all over the world.<\/p>\n
There are creative ways you can go off the beaten path and weave a few travel adventures into your medical journey.<\/p>\n
One way to practice medicine and travel the world is by asking your employer for permission to attend medical conferences abroad.\u00a0 By attending medical conferences abroad you may be able to acquire knowledge which can help your team back at home.<\/p>\n
Another option you can try to travel as a physican is asking to delay the start date of your job after residency and use that time to travel and expand your medical knowledge. If you are in a job that doesn\u2019t allow much flexibility, you can also look into other options that give you more freedom, using the tag time between positions to travel.<\/p>\n
All this to say, traveling as a physician, even for medical purposes, requires that you prioritize experiences over salary. There may be instances where you need to be willing to take a pay cut or miss out on a couple paychecks in order to travel the world. However, the payoff of following your passions will far outweigh any financial loss, including helping you avoid burnout.<\/p>\n
Beyond medicine,\u00a0combining traveling with your medical school training<\/a>\u00a0will also allow you to learn certain specific skills and lingo that will allow you to better relate to your patients. It will also give you the chance to interact with your future patient clientele on regular basis, giving you a more holistic understanding of their lifestyles and tendencies. For example, if you have a passion for sports medicine, why not train near an actual ski slope near the Arctic Circle where you can experience firsthand how to treat athletic injuries. Or perhaps you\u2019re passionate about aerospace medicine. It would benefit you to attend trainings at Johnson Space Center to learn from NASA flight surgeons.<\/p>\n
\nTake Advantage Of Clinicals and Fellowships<\/h3>
\nYou don\u2019t have to wait until you\u2019re an established doctor with a six-figure salary to travel the world\u2014in fact, you shouldn\u2019t. There is no better teacher than experience beyond the classroom, especially when it comes to practicing medicine in the context of your chosen specialty. Clinicals and fellowships are the perfect chance for medical students to not only go outside the classroom, but outside their comfort zones.<\/p>\nConsider Medical volunteering<\/h3>
\nWhile some doctors simply have an interest in exploring new places or acquiring new skillsets,\u00a0others have more altruistic motivations for wanting to travel<\/a>\u2014like bringing their skills to people around the world who wouldn\u2019t normally have access to quality healthcare. Many people see work as an obligation and travel as a luxury, rather than realizing the powerful impact combining the two could have on others.<\/p>\n