Doing a rotation abroad?

Has anyone's spouse ever done a rotation abroad? We've talked about wanting to live abroad at some point (maybe as a medical missionary?) but since we have a young child and one on the way, that is obviously not something we'd want to do until they're older and possibly even until after they're in college. My DH's school offers students the ability to go to Kenya for a month during their 4th year and while that would be cool, again, we just couldn't do that with little kids, especially a baby.

However, I do think it could be fun, neat, and educational for DH if we went to another country where I would feel comfortable, such as the UK, Ireland or somewhere else in Europe. Has anyone else ever done this though? Also, I'm wondering at what point during 4th year one would do this as you apply for residencies in the fall, correct? Also, I'm wondering if they'd have housing for a family of 4.

Thanks in advance!

[diggitydot]

My dude never did any rotations overseas, but some of our friends have done them in residency. They had amazing adventures, but they're all single peeps so that is a whole different dynamic.

[fluffhead]

We did one in residency, as an elective. It was relatively easy to get it through the beauracracy, even though nobody in the program had done it before.
We all went (there were only 2 kids back then), and it was a great time for everybody.

[medpedspouse]

The only rotation DH did was a 2 week one in rural Mexico where families could go as well...but they have stopped going because of the safety concerns. I have some friends who did this post fellowship for 2 years with a newborn in Malawi. They had a wonderful experience. Whether or not it would be small child friendly I think depends a lot on the program as well as location.

[moonlight]

We did it during MS3 for 12 weeks and LOVED IT. I still day dream about it! We didn't have kids when we did it, but most of our classmates that did go over to England or Ireland did have children with them. A few of them even had babies there. A few suggestions-

Try and plan on arriving a couple weeks early and/or staying a couple weeks after the rotation for additional time to unpacking, travel, and pack back up to go home.

We arrived in England with a hotel reservation for two days and no place to live. It took us about three days to find a place. With a family in tow you would want some help locating housing in advance but it's really hard thing to do from the US. Rather... it was hard for us. We tried but ended up looking after we got there.

Contact the hospital site now and let them know your interested and in what department. Tell your hubby to keep a open mind. Things are a tad different in the hospitals in England. With a open mind he should find that its a very interesting experience!

Bring good walking shoes for all and be ready to do a lot of walking!

Lastly, just keep a open mind about living in small spaces for a month. If you end up in a one bedroom flat for a month- who cares!? Just go with it. It's only temporary. We ended up renting a ROOM in a two bedroom flat/condo and lived with a guy! I still can't believe we did that, but what the heck we saved a ton of money and learned a lot from living with a local!

Keep posting questions. I'm more than happy to help!

[L.Jane]

We were just dating at the time, but J did a four week CT Surg rotation at a hospital in Israel. It was so much fun. I met him out there at the end and we traveled around together. He did it during the spring. It was a bit of mess with trying to find places because he left just a week after match or so and then when we came back it was a scramble to get everything together for the summer. I can't imagine doing it with kids though. It would be a fun adventure!

[SoonerTexan]

I had no idea this was an option. I'd love to do this!

[L.Jane]

I had no idea this was an option. I'd love to do this!

yup. A lot of the guys from J's class at your school did it fourth year. J had a group that each brought something back... We still have a small bottle of scotch that was brought back by one of the guys.

[Pollyanna]

Seems like we had a member go with her dh on an abroad rotation and they had a toddler and new baby if I remember correctly. Sounds like a lot of fun

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I could basically write a book about this at this point but I'll try to keep it brief.

We just spent a year in Kenya (August 2010-June 2011). DH was doing rotations and also research. His was set up as an independent study because it was a whole year but I can unequivocally say it was the best thing we've ever done. We have a heart for missions and just wanted to try it before we started the residency slog.

We had a blast and traveled all around in addition to him working in hospitals. The lodging there is definitely smaller than in the US but totally adequate. In fact, I wouldn't rule out Kenya even for a young family now that I've been there. I got pregnant while there and would absolutely go back in a heartbeat especially to some of the areas of the country where I'm betting they have this rotation set up. If you can tell me where, I can tell you whether it's safe. If it's the one I think it is, you don't even have to take anti-malarials because of the weather there. Kids can safely take anti-malarials though and it would be the adventure of a lifetime. Kenyans LOVE kids and it would be so awesome if you have the right mindset about the whole thing. Would everything be perfect and up to US standards, no, but would it be amazing to take young children to that part of the world, absolutely. They really, really shelter people who go there for short-term trips. We took public transportation, arranged our own housing, etc. and were totally fine but for people on rotations, etc they definitely shuttle you around, set you up, etc. Seriously, it's pretty fool-proof. I mean yeah, the food is different and obviously there's issues of poverty, etc. but it is the most stunningly beautiful country and I can tell you that your DH would learn a TON. My DH saw things there that the interviewers for residency had never seen (many things fixed in minor pediatric surgeries in the US are done as major surgeries on adults in Kenya because they have no peds trained surgeons) - he feels like it was an extremely worthwhile experience that helped set his application apart.

We probably can't go back for 5-6 years (DH is applying for residencies right now and didn't find any that allow residency rotations but we're definitely still looking) but we will definitely go back eventually. We're still trying to decide between full-time medical missions and maybe part-time every year. We want to get back there ASAP so that might play into the decision (easier to go part-time initially).

Let me know if you have any questions. I kept a blog while we were there and if it's the place I bet the rotation is, you could look at the pics...

Thanks everyone! I looked up on his school site and realized they have a partnership with schools in Ireland, Germany and France. I speak German but that doesn't really help DH so Ireland would be a perfect option. I think it would be so much fun. The logistics are kind of crazy to think about though so I'm not sure if it will all work out. I hope so though. I guess the biggest issue would be $$, we live solely on his student loans and we haven't had any private loans yet and DH doesn't want to take any out. I'm really not sure how we could afford it without that but I'm sure we could figure it out. Also the idea of getting housing seems nerve wracking! I wouldn't mind a small place either for such a short period of time, but I just hope we could find a clean and safe place.

And Tulips, my brother actually spent quite a bit of time in Tanzania/Kenya and we currently have friends who are in the Peace Corps in Zambia. After hearing their experiences, I just really wouldn't feel comfortable bringing 2 small children over there, especially a baby. My son could RSV at 3 months and was extremely close to being hospitalized. I realize he'd have good care with other doctors from my DH's med school there but I just wouldn't feel comfortable possibly exposing my kids to health risks, especially if something bad were to happen. Now, when they're older, have all their immunizations and a better immune system, then I wouldn't mind.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

And Tulips, my brother actually spent quite a bit of time in Tanzania/Kenya and we currently have friends who are in the Peace Corps in Zambia. After hearing their experiences, I just really wouldn't feel comfortable bringing 2 small children over there, especially a baby. My son could RSV at 3 months and was extremely close to being hospitalized. I realize he'd have good care with other doctors from my DH's med school there but I just wouldn't feel comfortable possibly exposing my kids to health risks, especially if something bad were to happen. Now, when they're older, have all their immunizations and a better immune system, then I wouldn't mind.

Lots of people feel that way. We met so many pregnant missionaries and women who delivered there that it wouldn't bother me but every place is different. I would be comfortable in TZ/Kenya but I've never been to Zambia so I wouldn't know about that. I do know that the Peace Corps and a short-term medical mission/rotation are VERY different ball games.

Good luck with whatever you decide! I will say that we did go into more debt to go on our trip but it was totally, 100% worth it! We have more loans than almost anyone I know (DH went to private college and private med school...) and I don't regret it for a second. Definitely don't let funds hold you back from such an adventure if you can help it!

[moonlight]

We were in the UK in 2008 at the record high of exchange rate. Somedays I paid more than $2 for a brittish pound! Oh joy. It really sucked dealing with that, but totally worth it! The Ireland site for DH's school was Waterford. That's the location where so many med famlies went to and babies were born!! Such a family friendly country from what we experienced.

[moonlight]

BTW, I can think of two other members here that had husbands that did training in Ireland. Hopfully one of them will post.

I didn't even know this was an option! Wow, sounds really fun!