By Ellina Chulpaeff
While President Barack Obama was campaigning for healthcare reform in the United States that more closely resembles British healthcare, Caroline Groth â10 decided to experience the British system for herself.
Over the summer, Groth spent a month interning at Guyâs and St. Thomasâ Hospital in London. She worked there five days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Groth was a biomedical scientist in the hospital; her responsibilities included cutting slides from skin samples in order to help diagnose skin cancers.
In addition, Groth was allowed in operating rooms and watched skin cancer surgeries.
Groth first found out about the internship opportunity online when she ran across a program called Intern Exchange International. The internship program allows students ages 16 to 18 to work side by side with a professional in a field they have high interest in.
“I wanted to work over the summer and thought it would be even more interesting to do it in another country,” Groth said. “I also really wanted to see the British healthcare system first-hand.”
According to Groth, viewing surgeries was an experience she would never forget.
“Watching the surgeon cut into the patientâs face while the patient was still conscious and talking to me was definitely memorable,” Groth said.
