Hi everyone! My name is Jerry, and I’m writing this from my second day in London, feeling still a little jet-lagged but plenty excited about what lies ahead. 

I’m a Rehabilitation Science major with a Pathokinesiology certificate. I am on a pre-physical therapy path and plan to become a physical therapist. Outside of academics, I am the current president of the Music Production Club. 

This summer, I will be interning at King’s College Hospital in the Anaesthetic Department in London. I knew I wanted some kind of international experience during college, but when I came across this particular program, it immediately caught my eye. Unlike a traditional study abroad program, this one centers around an internship, which felt more interesting to me. And as someone who’s pre-PT, I found the program’s healthcare focus a natural fit, and I felt it would greatly benefit my academic and professional career. 

There are two things I’m especially hoping to take away from this experience. The first is a deeper understanding of how the UK’s National Health Service compares to the American healthcare model. I took a course on issues in healthcare that explored the various challenges facing the US system and briefly touched on the healthcare models of other countries. This experience will allow me to witness a different healthcare system in practice. The second is growth and experience working within a hospital environment. I’m placed in the anaesthetic department, and I’m looking forward to developing skills through the various quality improvement projects I’ll be completing, especially knowing the work has the potential to make a genuine difference in patient care.

The biggest challenge I anticipate is coming into projects where I don’t yet have much background knowledge and wondering whether I’ll be able to produce work that could ultimately influence how real patients are treated. But I think confronting that discomfort is a big part of why experiences like this internship are worth doing in the first place.

Outside of the internship, I’m determined to explore as much of this city as I can. I’ve already managed to see some of the major landmarks: Big Ben, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace, among others. But what I’m most curious about is getting beyond the tourist path and finding the smaller, more local and unexpected sides of London. 

I’m looking forward to what the next weeks bring. I look forward to the people I’ll meet and the things I’ll learn. Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll follow along my journey.