Hendrix student studies in Australia
Before the spring, Alana Stephens, a junior at Hendrix College, had never ventured outside the boundaries of the United States, let alone seen a kangaroo cross the road.
Stephens, who is also a 2006 graduate of Conway High School, spent the first few weeks of her summer vacation in Australia after being nominated for the International Scholar Laureate Program Delegation on Medicine.
"It was a medical internship and there were 80 of us who visited Melbourne, Sydney and Cairns and we were able to go to different medical centers to talk to professionals and visit local medical schools," Stephens said Friday.
Stephens' study-abroad trip will also count as one of three Odyssey projects she must complete before graduation. The project fell under the "global awareness" category and she said the globalization of medicine is one of the most important ideas she took away from the trip.
"I would like to maybe study in Australia after college, but even if I don't, at least I am now more aware of the different medical systems," Stephens said. "And I've seen that the globalization of medicine is crucial, especially having countries come together and share ideas."
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One of the biggest differences Stephens said she observed while in Australia was the fact that their government provides universal health care. Although Stephens does not know if that could work in the United States, she said every patient and doctor overseas spoke highly of it.
Stephens, who is majoring in neuroscience and hopes to attend medical school after graduation, said she is anxious to incorporate what she learned in Australia into her career in the medical world.
"Their medical system was based on a more personal, less clinical level, but in the United States we have more access to technology," Stephens said. "There are a lot of positive aspects of their system and ours as well, so learning about both is neat because you can consider combining aspects of both."
Because Stephens is so interested in the psychological aspect of medicine, she said she had always wanted to study with the doctors in Australia.
"They have a lot of focus on psychology in medical centers in Australia, meaning they focus on how you feel as a whole person instead of just treating your symptoms with medicine," Stephens said.
Another difference Stephens was impressed with in Australia was the jump start students were able to get on their medical studies. She said students could apply to medical programs fresh out of high school and she said the work was geared more toward hands-on experiences.
"Their system of teaching in medical school is a lot different because they are more focused on clinical, hands-on work than book work," Stephens said. "Unlike what our medical students do, they incorporate the scientific side while they're doing hands-on work, instead of having science classes first."
Two forms of medicine Stephens said she had never been exposed to before venturing to Australia were the Bush and indigenous medical practices performed by the Aboriginal tribes.
"One of the men there showed us the actual plants the Aborigines used to use, and some still use, and we even got to make our own medicines using them," Stephens said. "They also gave an interesting presentation on how they live and how they use the medicine."
Aside from studying medicine while in Australia, Stephens said she was able to get a feel for the culture, too.
"We were able to go to the Great Barrier Reef and while we were in the Outback, we got to hold a koala and pet kangaroos," Stephens said. "It really was the trip of a lifetime and it was really neat seeing how Australians are so similar to us, yet they live on the opposite end of the world."
(Staff writer Jessica Bauer can be reached by e-mail at jessica.bauer@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)