For 17 outstanding NMU students, the winter holiday from January21st to February12th was a chance to participate in the NMU Overseas Visiting Scholars Programme, allowing them to complete courses and clinical trainee programmes abroad. The students visited one of two universities, namely, Wilson College and Wayne State University. Students from NMU visiting Wilson College enjoyed a four-city-tour, including Atlanta and Augusta in Georgia, Birmingham in Alabama, and Charleston in South Carolina. These students visited various general hospitals, specialized hospitals and private clinics, acting as medical interns following US medical practitioners. Their internships included Departments of Oncology, Gastroenterology, E.N.T, Dermatology, Cardiac Surgery, and Burns. Throughout the programme, the visiting students were impressed by the strict and orderly system of diagnosis and treatment, as well as the trusting and friendly relationship between doctor and patient. Two of these students involved in emergency treatment earned the recognition of the local news. The students also built deep friendships with their American host families and enjoyed the rich western culture. Those students attending the Wayne State University Visiting Scholars programme enjoyed the same courses as many medical students at Wayne. The NMU students visited the Wayne State University clinical skills training centre and laboratories, and had the opportunity to see for themselves how American professors conduct scientific research. The students also served as trainees in Michigan Children's Hospital Infections Department, ICU and Emergency Department, and received visiting scholar certificates upon completion of the course. With the completion of both programmes, all the participating students agreed that their overseas course not only broadened their international perspectives and let them taste a foreign culture, but it also deepened their sense of mission as a medical practitioner, and gave them an opportunity to consider the differences in medical environments at home and abroad. These NMU students demonstrated unity, witty optimism, and courtesy, earning the praise of those foreign personnel involved in the programme.
Reported by: International Cooperation and Exchange Office
Translated by: Huang Nan
Edited by: Rosalind Ochengo
