Build a Medical Career by Serving Abroad (Original Release 5/26)

One week abroad can do what years of “checking the boxes” can’t: it can make medicine feel real. We sit down with Bryce, a University of South Carolina grad and paid cardiology medical scribe, to talk about the moment international service learning turned his curiosity about healthcare into a concrete vision for becoming a physician. Along the way, we unpack why scribing can be a high-value clinical experience for pre-med students, from learning Epic and medical documentation to seeing how trust is built over long-term follow-ups.

Bryce walks us through two global health service trips, starting with Costa Rica and then a gap year trip to Belize that adds hospital rotations on top of community clinics. He shares the patient encounters that stay with him, including what it feels like to see cerebral palsy managed far from major hospitals and how much low-resource teams can accomplish with limited equipment. We also get into mentorship as the real engine of growth: physicians who teach, medical students who guide, and the “pay it forward” mindset that can shape an entire medical career.

Then we look ahead. Bryce is now leading a two-week Tanzania experience built for gap year students who want meaningful hospital exposure in specialties like surgery, orthopedics, emergency medicine, pediatrics, and general medicine, plus cultural activities and optional excursions. If you care about global health, medical mission trips, underserved communities, or building clinical confidence before med school, this conversation offers a clear, honest roadmap. Subscribe, share this with a friend considering a gap year, and leave a review with one question you want answered about serving abroad.

I also want to thank our listeners for joining us as it is our goal to not only share with you our guest’s introduction to international healthcare, but also to share with you how that exposure to international healthcare has shaped their future path in healthcare. As true patient advocates, we should all aspire to be as well rounded as possible in order to meet the needs of our diverse patient populations. 

As a 50+ year nurse that has worked in quite a variety of clinical roles in our healthcare system, taught healthcare courses for the past 20 years at the university level, and has traveled extensively with my students on international service-learning trips, I can easily attest to the fact that healthcare focused students need, and greatly benefit from the opportunity to have hands-on experiential healthcare experiences in an international setting! I have seen the growth of students post travel as their self-confidence in their newly acquired skillsets, both clinical and cultural, facilitates their ability to take advantage of opportunities that previously may not have been available to them. By rendering care internationally, and stepping outside one's comfort zone, many more doors of opportunity will be opened.

Feel free to check out our website at www.islonline.org, follow us on Instagram @ islmedical, and reach out to me @ DrH@islonline.org

Transcript

Why Serving Abroad Changes Careers

Dr. H 0:00

Well, hello, I'm Dr. Patrick Hickey, or Dr. Ake, as many of my students refer to me. It's been my true pleasure to be the host of International Service Learning Experiential Medical Education. Our goal has been to hear the voices of those that have been involved in international service and healthcare. And after a recent review of 27 episodes that began in November of 2025, I can easily see that we are meeting our goals. This summer I want to revisit and re-edit some of those episodes as each and every episode is quite unique, with all sharing a very common theme. That of stepping out of one's comfort zone and advocating for an underster population that does not have a voice. Today I am revisiting an episode that was originally released on April the 26th. The title of that episode, Build a Medical Career by Serving Abroad, is very fitting as my guest for that episode, Bryce, truly had his life change while on a SERES learning trip to Belize in February of this year. Bryce was part of an inaugural med student gap year student trip to Belize. And it shared with me that it was this experience that really opened his eyes to the potential that I had to be an MD. This experience was so powerful for Bryce that he wanted others to have a similar experience. So he is now lefting an inaugural gap year student trip to Tanzania in September of this year. Of course, there were many reasons that his February experience was so memorable. Uppermost though for a pre-med student was the fact that he and his cohort were able to rotate through various specialty areas in a hospital where they shadowed and collaborated with the physicians, all of whom were very supportive of the students. Bryce has arranged the same opportunity in Tanzania, Africa. I hope that you enjoy Bryce's podcast and that you can hear the passion in his voice. Check out his videos on Instagram at ISL Medical, where he shares more of his plans for Tanzania.

Meet Bryce And His Medical Path

Dr. H 2:11

Well, I'm real excited today to have a guest with us that's got some adventures coming up, and he's going to be uh sharing them with us. But I've known Bryce for a couple of years now, I believe, through the University of South Carolina. Bryce, but before we get going to learn about your service learning trips and some of the plans you got coming up, tell us a little bit about yourself, where you're from, why you came to the University of South Carolina, what your major was, and and what your plans are moving forward.

Brice 2:42

Yes, sir. Well, thank you first for having me. But my name is Bryce. I'm from Fort Mill, South Carolina. I attended the University of South Carolina. I grew up in my a whole family of Gamecocks. So for me, the UFC was kind of I was born into the life. But I came into South Carolina as a biology major, and I knew I wanted to do something in the health science field, mainly in medicine, but it was really when I first started volunteering that kind of cemented the fact that I wanted to do the MD route. And so I graduated last December and I graduated in three and a half years, and then I've been working since then for Propel Clinical, doing clinical scribing at MUSC with a specialty in cardiology.

Paid Medical Scribing As A Shortcut

Dr. H 3:25

Yeah, let's let's talk about every person who comes on, is obviously very unique. Um talk to us about the medical scribe process because it's it's something I see a lot of healthcare-focused students doing as they're in their undergrad.

Brice 3:39

Yes, sir. Well, I thought it was a really interesting thing. Going into the summer before my senior year, I was really looking to increase some clinical experience on my med school resume. And so I I thought I was looking at all the options, and there was like EMT, MA, and clinical scribing. And EMT and MA is like, I had I didn't have a certification yet, and I kind of wanted to get right into it. And so I found a company that contracts with MUSC named Propel Clinical, and they trained me, and then I was trained on site as well to scribe. And I think it's been really helpful. You get a one-on-one kind of mentorship with the physician you work for, and but then at the same time, I have a really good understanding of the specialty I was in, and then a really good understanding of how medical documentation works, as well as using the epic user face, which I think will give me a really good like jump start when I start my clinical presentations and my residence.

Dr. H 4:35

What a wonderful opportunity to kind of get a look, so to speak, at what your future could be because you're basically working with a physician, it's going through the rounds and and you're you're learning about the diagnostics tests that they're utilizing. You're learning to interpret some of those diagnostic tests, and then you're seeing the physician's rapport with the patients.

Brice 4:56

Yes, I think one of the best things was I've I shadowed throughout undergrad, but for shadowing, you might be there for a day to a week. I never really had an extended shadowing. And with scribing, although I was doing work, typing the notes, prepping the charts, and like in the room pending orders with the physician, I thought it was really cool to see. I saw patients over the past year at MUSC cardiology and seeing their return visits and kind of how their health changes over time, as well as the rapport they have with the doctor. I saw some patients that came in on monthly basis, some that came on six months and yearly. And I think the coolest part was seeing some of those people that came very frequently that I continue to see, trying to build my own rapport with them, as well as the most shocking thing was the physician I worked for. He was more at the end of his career as a physician. And so he's seen patients that were coming in that he's seen longer than I've been alive. So I thought that was really cool to see the trust the patients had in the physician, and also on the other side, how the physician also had respect for the patient.

Dr. H 5:58

Well, for a uh pre-med student, this sounds like a gift. And yeah, sir.

Brice 6:03

No, I I I highly recommend this describing for any pre-med that's looking for uh mentorship and as well as more clinical experience.

Dr. H 6:10

And they paid you for this, right?

Brice 6:12

Yes, sir. It is paid. That was that was one thing. I I volunteered and was doing that to get my clinical experience. So again, a little bit of payment on the side was definitely nice.

Dr. H 6:21

That's that's fantastic. Thanks for sharing. That's a good shout out to all the pre-med kids. Look into scribing opportunities, correct?

Brice 6:29

Yes, sir, 100%. Propel clinical if you go to the University of South Carolina.

Dr. H 6:33

Excellent.

First Service Trips In Costa Rica

Dr. H 6:34

Well, listen, the topic of us getting together is to talk about service learning. And and I know you've been on a couple of different trips. So tell us about your first uh service learning trip and and what motivated you to sign up for that.

Brice 6:46

Yes, sir. Well, my first service learning trip was spring break of my junior year. So last last spring, and I was in the pre-med fraternity called Fly Delta Epsilon, and they organized a trip every year. And I remember during the recruitment process, some of the members were telling me about how they were planning to go on a trip for that year. And I was really interested in it, and that was one of the biggest reasons that I have found interest in joining the fraternity. And when the time came along, my junior year, I had a spring break that I didn't really have anything planned, and the opportunity to go to Costa Rica was presented. And so I was in Alauela, Costa Rica for one week.

Dr. H 7:27

That was my first and your second service learning trip. Can you tell us about that one?

Brice 7:32

Yes, sir. So with me graduating in December of 2025, this past February, I was in my gap year, and Dr. Hickey actually came up with and presented me the idea of a pre-med and or not a pre-med, a gap year and medical school combo trip. And I thought that I I think one of the biggest things in medicine is mentorship. And so I had the the idea to kind of join in, and I had to work around my schedule a little bit and get my time describing kind of covered, but I went to Belize for a little over a week, and this one was a way different. We had not just the community visits, but with the med students or the med students, we were able to incorporate hospital time too. So I got to see in inpatient in the hospital as well as do the free health service clinic. So I think that was the biggest, the like the biggest life-changing service trip I've ever had for my path to medicine. And especially what really stands out to me was the combo trip having those medical students. I now have five medical students that will mentor me for the rest of my life. I stay very in contact with them, and that was to me the big the biggest part of that service trip.

Mentorship And Choosing A Specialty

Dr. H 8:47

Well, yeah, I'm glad you share that about the mentorship because again, uh I've known you for a few years and I do a lot of mentoring, as you know, myself at the University of South Carolina. And many times I've we we've done a handoff. I've I've worked with you to, you know, help help tag team, so to speak, on mentoring. I can only do so much, then I would recommend a few students to follow up with you. And you were always so timely about looping back to me and saying, hey, I I met with so-and-so, here's where we're at, here's what we did, and and uh and then you got to experience it in in Belize being mentored by uh the med students. Yes, sir. So full circle. And and that's that's yes sir.

Brice 9:25

And I I I think within medicine too, it is throughout the your entire career a full circle of mint being a mentee and a mentor. Like as a pre-med, I had people like you and these med students, and the physician I scribed for, and like older, older members of my pre-med fraternity meant being mentors to me. And then it kind of changed as I became an upperclassman where I was mentoring some of your younger students. But I think this continues as like as a as a first-year resident, you're gonna have older residents residents mentoring you and attending physicians. And then as you go keep continuing, there's always people to mentor you as well, but you have to also pay it back as a mentor to the young.

Dr. H 10:05

I like your sentiment that you always have to pay it back. That that's a wonderful sentiment. I feel the same way, but unfortunately, in our present system, it it's a challenge to be mentored by physicians in their daily practice because they're all so busy. And and you know, I I think we're creating a new generation of healthcare providers, you know, with people like yourself and others that that learn the value of mentoring, you know, at an early juncture. And then hopefully, as you move forward through your career, that you'll be mentoring too. You know, my hope is that you know, five, six, eight years from now, and someone comes up and says, Hey, Dr. Bryce, I've got a high school kid here today. Would he be able to shout it with you? And uh, you know, I hope your your response is going to be, but of course, you know, because I need that.

Brice 10:47

Uh of course. No, I I I think at least for me, like I had no family in medicine. And so when I first got to the University of South Carolina, that was like the one thing I needed to find was kind of guidance within medicine because there was no one to tell me how to study for the MCAT. There's no one to tell me like how to get shadowing. And so I think coming from at the beginning, having no connections to the field at all, that's something like absolutely as an attending, I I would be more than honored and willing to help help anyone shadow. That that's definitely a goal.

Dr. H 11:19

Well, you you've you've had a recent dilemma in the last six months to a year where you've developed a wonderful relationship with your mentor who's a cardiologist and wants you to come over to the dark side of cardiology, whereas you have let him know that your interest is orthopedic. So who's winning that tug of war?

Brice 11:40

I don't know. When I my last day on Wednesday at the clinic in Columbia with him, he asked me the same question at the end. And I I said it's almost it's almost 50-50 now. Like I would consider trying to double match and just let the match choice pick which one for me.

Dr. H 11:56

Well, it it all comes down to quality of life. And you know, when you have very passionate mentors, like you've had the tendencies, I want to have what they have, you know, and they got that passion because of what they're doing. So, you know, I always say never say never, and and that's a that's a good way to leave it with your mentor.

The Patient Stories That Stick

Dr. H 12:13

Now, you've been on a couple of service learning trips. Obviously, you've you've you've met and and dealt with a lot of patients. What stands out? Is there, I mean, from from your first or second trip, are there any situations, scenarios, patient care stories that that resonate with you?

Brice 12:29

Yes, sir. So I I have a couple from both ends, from both trips. The first one in Costa Rica, my overall, like when I I that was my first time like truly leaving the country. And so I was really just starstruck at everything. I've never been in communities like that. But the one thing that I and that continues to happen every service trip, whenever I go to some of these places, I I'm always starstruck at the fact that they might not have like the same house I have, the same technology I have, or anything. But everyone's just so happy. And it's just throughout the whole thing, it's just all great experience the entire time. Like everyone I've met, whether that be a patient, whether it be children within the community that weren't patients that I played like soccer with, or the physicians, or the translators, or even the tour guides, um like everyone is just so happy. And like I think that's also comes with while you're serving others. You get that joy, but it just that's the biggest thing that I think stood out throughout all of it was everyone's just so happy, and there's just so much spirit and just so much goodwill being done. But then being a little bit more specific with specific patients in Costa Rica. The one that will always resonate with me was we went into it, we were doing our community visits and doing our house visits before the first day of clinic, and this is my first time in this community. I walk into this house and it was made with like semi-permal material, and it was more of a farming community, and there was a child kind of hung up with like ropes and like cords and a little baby carrier, but that child ended up having cerebral palsy, and so that was something that I really kind of was able to take it all in at once. And I was in the middle of Costa Rica, there was not like a major hospital anywhere close to us, and they're managing a child with cerebral palsy, whereas in the United States, like being from Columbia, we have like Prisma Richland and like these huge hospitals with all the technology, all the scans, all the physicians, all the research, it's all localized. And so that was my biggest thing. You could really see that there's a discrepancy for some of the access that we have in the United States compared to they have in different countries. And then going into another one in Belize, I think for me, the the biggest thing that I took away was being inside those hospital wards. I was used to in Colombia these massive hospitals. There are multiple stories in Belize. It was like one story, and there was like indoor and outdoor. So like you walked under like breeze waves to get into a different department. And like I remember they had like six beds, and so it was their medicine ward, and it was split up like medicine men, medicine women, surgical men, surgical women. And there was, I want to say like six beds in each of those four things, and then like two contamination beds. And so, like, you walk into a big hospital in the United States, and there's floors for those those subspecialties, and whereas there it was kind of all in one. And so I think the biggest takeaways I had is just the difference in access and utilities and equipment between the two, the two, being foreign and being in the United States.

Dr. H 15:49

Well, it's an amazing, uh great observation on the happiness. Know that the good majority of those people are very appreciative that you have gone out of your way to come to see them. And you probably never thought about that. You gave up your spring break, friends were off, summer partying, you spent money, you went to an underserved area, this case, never been out of the country, you went into an impoverished area and you're under healthcare. So they're they're just so happy that you have extended yourself in a service format to reach out to them. And yes, uh it is a good observation also that that they may not have half or a quarter of what we have, but they're happier than we are. And sometimes the more violence we have, the more headaches we have. So it's a simpler life that sometimes these people experience it that we wish that we could have. I've had many times where students have come back and have been very challenged. I've got a cell phone, I'm connected, I've got a car, I've got a home, I I feel so bad. But but know that these people are very happy and appreciative that you came by. And also in your second story, know that they can do so much with so little. I mean, they probably uh rigged up that that device for that child, and and they're doing as best they can for probably what could have been a very complex medical situation that would have been handled completely different in the United States. And you know, I've I've done so many of these trips, I'm humbled every time I come back from these trips. And and uh it it it's just great that you had that observation.

Learning Inside Clinics And The OR

Dr. H 17:23

What was it like working with the healthcare professionals, both in Costa Rica, the team you work with, and and then maybe more importantly, the team you work with in Belize? What was that process like?

Brice 17:34

So in in Costa Rica, we had doctors or two physicians and then a pharmacist come visit and spend the days with us while we did the community clinics, and they were amazing. And I honestly both trips, the physicians and the providers that came with us were amazing, but more specifically in Costa Rica, I feel like there all of us were pre-med students, and for the most part, majority of us had experience in healthcare in the United States, and so we were able to do their workups and everything pretty smoothly, but they were phenomenal at teaching as well. Like I remember that was my first time really doing like taking a patient history and doing a presentation with the physician, and so the physician worked a ton with me on making sure my presentation came smoothly and clean, and I covered all my parts. And so I think the the big thing for them was like teaching us, and they accomplished that tenfold. It was amazing. And Belize, I got brain cards.

Dr. H 18:33

Before we go on to Belize, let me just uh touch on that point about presentation to a physician. I spoke to a fourth-year med student recently who said they had been on an ISL trip, had had the same experience as you had had when they were in undergrad. Now they're a fourth year med student, and they shared that they did not learn how to do a presentation to a physician until their fourth year of med school. And you learned you learned it in your undergrad as a junior, which is which is still and and it was cool too.

Brice 19:04

Like I I have a little bit of background and uh speaking Spanish, so I could do a little bit, I could, I could kind of flip between the two. There are some words and terms, especially on the medicine side that I didn't know, but I was really able to kind of get what they were saying to me in Spanish and present to the physician English. So I thought that was really cool on the side to also work on my Spanish speaking skills.

Dr. H 19:26

That's great that you got that that that process, that presentation to a physician experience in in Costa Rica. And I apologize, I didn't mean to cut you off. You were you were just going you were just going right to Belize, and in Belize?

Brice 19:38

Yes, sir. And in Belize, I kind of break the trip up into two different points. We had the clinics and then the hospital. So in the clinic, it was the same thing. We had uh physicians and a pharmacist come join us in the clinics, and again, they were phenomenal with teaching me. I remember for then in Belize, I worked a lot with the physician on proper diagnoses, and it was really interesting. She was a pain doctor, and so we had a lot of pain, uh, patients come in with like sciatica pain or joint pain, and she was able to teach me, and I got to watch her do some uh pain relief like uh with mobility and stuff like that on the patient, and I thought that was the coolest thing, and she was so happy to share about like her specialty and kind of how she treats pain in the field, which was really interesting to see. And then in on the hospital side of it, we had a ton of physicians that were more than more than help willing to help. And so I worked in internal medicine and then general surgery. And so for internal medicine, the two physicians that came and spoke with us and like kind of walked us through the patients there were amazing. And again, they were just so happy and inspiring to teach, which was awesome. But I really saw my biggest moments in the general surgery in the OR. I was lucky enough, I was able to sit in on a handful of cases, and not only did I have the uh surgeons there teaching me and like explaining and walking me through the cases, I had uh medical students but that were able to give advice. But overall, I had or like overall of that, there was an orthopedic surgeon that rotates between the hospitals, I believe. And he sat me down, and we had a pediatric wrist fracture, and so he sat me down, walked me through his entire step-by-step of surgery. He would retract stuff to let me get up to the table and view, but then the best part was after me and him sat in the his office after, and he pulled up all the pre-op and post-op imaging on the his computer. And we were he explained all of that, and we me and him were able to have like a review session on like the different types of fractures and what they see commonly and believes and how they treat it. And so, like that right there was like the best one on one training and like in person teaching I experienced throughout all of them, and I will forever remember that. That working through those fractions with that.

Dr. H 22:01

Isn't that great that that physician took the time to to sit down and do that with you? And I know that you're gonna, as you mentioned earlier, paid forward and do the same somewhere down the line with someone else and make their experience. Sounds like you had a fantastic experience. I'm I'm sure you're making a lot of people saying, I wish I was on that trip.

Brice 22:20

No, no, no, I I hope they do. It should be it should be something like at least it's it's done so much for me going on these mission trips. I advise everyone and encourage everyone to try to just step out of your comfort zone. Because I I mean the first time for me leaving the country, I was stepping out of my comfort zone. But I feel like every time I've stepped further and further out of it, I've experienced more and more. And there's more perspectives and more things that will only help me further

Bringing Global Health Lessons Home

Brice 22:45

in my career.

Dr. H 22:45

And again, that that is a common theme I see amongst a lot of the pre-med students, stepping out of your comfort zone, and you know, doors of opportunity will open for you, you know, if you push yourself a little bit. And and by doing so, you're gaining fantastic experience that is increasing your self-confidence and your self-esteem, which is fantastic. How has this changed your perspective on healthcare, you know, in the United States? Because you're you're already kind of sort of working in the system in the United States. You've been a medical scribe, now you've been to two underdeveloped or developing countries. How has this experience with the patient population, the lack thereof of resources affected you moving forward?

Brice 23:24

Yes, sir. Well, I I have a couple different points for that. I think first off, me, I continue to work on my Spanish speaking skills, and as time continues, it's only going to be more beneficial for me to be able to speak Spanish as well in the United States, especially in the southern parts of the US. And so I think getting one-on-one experience and like hands-on experience using Spanish in a clinical setting was very beneficial and something I definitely will keep continuing within my career. And then I think, secondly, I think just viewing like you said earlier, and I think you said a great how much they can do with so little is something I really want to keep in mind. Like I was I remember for the going back to the orthogonal surgeon, we didn't have a handheld x ray or a portable x-ray to use in the OR. And so he was able to do it all manually. And so I think it only will continue to improve my skill if I'm able to not just rely on the super fancy equipment and the OR or like in like the ER doing an exam and also taking it back kind of to the roots of medicine is is a kind of a humbling thing. And then thirdly, I think just the overall humility and like how humble I was and or like was coming back from that trip. I'm I always am going to be so grateful for what I have here, but I also know that there are communities and people in need of health care and assistance. And so like for me, global health has been like a huge stamp now on my application, I'd say. And like I want to continue doing mission trips as I continue to get older. And like for me, like working with like a doctor's beyond borders or something as an attending physician is definitely kind of in my bank of cards.

Dr. H 25:06

Well, I can I can definitely feel your passion for global health, and I can see that that your experiences have left an an indelible impression upon yourself, and and that's only going to better serve your patients moving forward, as you said, you know, by by becoming bilingual, by learning Spanish, by joining Doctors Without Borders, or continue to do what you're doing in the future. That's that's huge. Fantastic experiences that you've had, Bryce. Well, for students that are considering a similar trip, that may be sitting on the fence, wondering, you know, maybe a little expensive, I'm not sure if it if it will help me or not. What would your advice to them be?

Brice 25:43

I I think first, like if if you're nervous more for like the leaving aspect of like leaving the US, leaving kind of like your bubble and what you're safe to, I would say I I was as too as nervous as you leaving to go to Costa Rica, but like like I said, stepping out of that comfort zone is always gonna be beneficial for you, and experiencing new things is always gonna be beneficial. And I think too, it's such a great time as a pre-med to do it early. Like as as you continue to go through this journey of medicine, and as you get into medical school, you get into residency, it's only gonna be more and more time consuming. And so I think the best time to do it is is as an undergrad when you have the extra spring break or the extra time in summer to go take that step. But I think overall, just if you look at all the testimonies from the people that have went and done mission trips like this, they're always so positive and they've impacted us so much. And so, like I know sometimes costs can be a restriction. And there are, I know, like I use the scholarship at USC to help cover the first one, but there are ways to kind of help reduce that. But at the end of the day, it's just so it's like so beneficial to me, and I think also just to like how I view everything now. I think the benefit you get from it is unmatched.

Dr. H 27:04

Well, and yeah, again, I hear your passion. I appreciate that. I'm sure a lot of people are gonna be tripping over each other to go on these trips now because of of what

Leading A Gap Year Trip To Tanzania

Dr. H 27:13

you've shared. Well, you know, I I I alluded in the beginning as we chatted that you you had some major plans coming up in in addition to your service learning trips. You're kind of already paying it forward. Tell us about an opportunity you've got coming up here real soon.

Brice 27:29

Yes, sir. Well, so real soon, me, me and behind the scenes, we've been working on doing a gap year plan going to Tanzania, Africa for two weeks. And it's gonna be a little bit more similar to what I did in Belize, where we have clinic and we have hospital rotations. I felt like the hospital rotations as a hopefully a future MD were really what I was looking for. I really wanted to see that inpatient, like true medicine care. And so it's gonna be, I want to say, a 60, 60, 33 split between a 66 hospital and 33% clinic. So you get kind of the best of both worlds, and as well, it will be going to Tanzania, Africa. So I was always like a Nat GL wild kid growing up, and so the safari and Africa was just like one of the destinations I always had marked on my list. So I think that everyone that if you're willing to come, I think it'll be the great experience.

Dr. H 28:22

So you had such a great time on the two service learning trips that you wanted to get back, and now you're leading a trip, you're going to Tanzania. Yes, sir. Uh the dates on that, Bryce, are I want to let me I can double check with you real quick.

Brice 28:35

It I can pull up. It's September 14th. I want to say to September 20th.

Dr. H 28:39

Oh, September 7th to September 28th. There we go. Sorry, sorry. I've got the flyer in front of me. Right now the cost is $29.95. I'll be posting the flyer on on Instagram. You're the trip leader. So there's some optional recreational excursions, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, if you if you're in condition for that, which which you are, you're training for an Ironman triathlon, I know. Safari, hot air balloon, a lot of potential optional recreational excursions. And and that's I know that's what the ISL trips are all about. I mean, you work, work, work real hard, but then you play hard too. And and and some of those are optional, and and for students want to want more information, you'll be able to share that with them. Is that correct?

Brice 29:21

I yes, sir. I I if reach out to me, I'm happy to talk to any of y'all. I can show you all the itinerary and like all the tentative plans we have. And I do know a big thing as well is kind of the play hard side of it too. And so there are built in to that cost already. I know we are doing like a hot spring, a coffee tour, and then a another waterfall as well on the first weekend.

Dr. H 29:44

Yeah, we always want to make sure there's cultural activities, but the unique thing about the Tanzania trip is the hospital rotation, and and that's that's gonna be amazing to kind of sort of replicate the experience that you had in Belize. I don't think language is an issue where you're going, and the culture is gonna be amazing. I I've seen previous trips to Tanzania, and that's just fantastic.

Brice 30:08

And the uh we we we do know the specialties too for those wondering in the hospital. And so it'll be surgery, orthopedics, emergency, pediatrics, and then general medicine.

Dr. H 30:20

So this is uh targeted for gap year students. And the reason yes, I believe the reason we're doing this with with international service learning is we've found that a lot of students that are in their gap year have not had the opportunity that you had during their undergrad. They worked hard on their grades, they did what they needed to do, they got through academically, now they're taking a year off, maybe working in healthcare, doing something, but yet they've never had this opportunity to get maybe they shouted a little bit, but very rarely did they have a hospital opportunity where you had physician mentors. Here's that opportunity.

Brice 30:55

Is that correct? Yes, sir, completely. Like I was able to squeeze that first one while I was in undergrad to Costa Rica over a spring break. But like I knew I'd like the same as I bet many other pre-meds and people in their gap year now experienced like just like you said, I was so busy or starting for the MCAT working on classwork that like I really couldn't set aside a couple weeks to leave the country. I wasn't able to go to Belize until I was graduated. And so I think as a gap year student, when you do have the extra time, this is the the perfect just like final stamp to that med school resume.

Dr. H 31:30

That's a fantastic price, $29.95. I mean, that doesn't include some of the options that we talked about, which excursions, but students can get more information from you on that. It's a two-week trip. Normally there's seven or normally nine or ten days, but you've got to fly so far. The nice thing about going to Tanzania, should people want to do this, it's in September. You can jump from Tanzania to mainland Europe or or to uh travel to other places, which is a nice option.

Brice 31:57

Yes, sir. And when when I spoke to the in-country coordinators in Tanzania, they told me that September was like the perfect time to be in Africa. And so they said Tanzania in September, the wildlife is like amazing at the time, the temperature is not too bad, and like overall, this is that was like the day that was the time frame that they gave me. They're like, this is the best time to go to the state.

Dr. H 32:20

Well, this sounds like a bucket list trip of a lifetime to go to Tanzania. Yes, sir. And you know, I I I I know how hard it is for for pre-med students. I've I've worked with them pretty exclusively for the last what 15-20 years. I know how much sacrifice you put into working on your grades, doing well in the MCATS. This is an opportunity to treat yourself, uh, so to speak, you know, go on a trip like this. A little bit of conditioning required to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, but if if people are so interested, you you can help them with that. It'd be kind of cool if if you did go on this trip to climb Kilimanjaro. It is one of the seven summits of the world.

Brice 32:58

Yeah, so I was inspired to climb it from you, Dr. Haney. So you you put planted that seed for me, but I I do want to add too, I know with the safari, it is gonna be around the Norongoro crater, which is one of the most I this from my Nat Geo Wild research, but is one of the most like wildlife biodiverse places in the world. And so it'll have all of the major wildlife game that you'd see in Africa. So all the bucket list animals that you always saw in the zoo and everything, we'll see them in their natural habitat within this crater. And so it's it's it's gonna be completely different than going to see like a line at the zoo, is what they told me.

Dr. H 33:36

Having been there and done it, and I did the Noran Goro crater also, it is fantastic capitalize. It's an unbelievable once-in-lifetime experience. So I highly recommend it. Uh, I'll be I'll be posting the graphic on Instagram so people will have your number. Um, I'm hopeful a lot of people will be calling for information.

Final Encouragement And Next Steps

Dr. H 33:58

Anything uh else you want to share with us, Bryce, before we sign off. I mean, I I could go on and on. I love your passion for everything you've shared.

Brice 34:05

Yeah, so I I I just want to re-reemphasize that like I I stepped out of my comfort zone. I would encourage all of y'all that are on the fence about it to do it as well. This has been so impactful into my career and just myself in general, like it's really opened my eyes. And so I encourage every single one of y'all, if if you're if you're able to and willing to either come to Tanzania or look at other trips throughout ISL, is really the kind of impacted me just like completely. I I encourage everybody.

Dr. H 34:36

I would I would also, since I'm going to be posting your your your number, you know, for those that are interested in the trip, you know, reach out to Bryce also for pre-med information. I mean, he's a wealth of information. And and you know, you you just don't see people or meet people like Bryce very often that are so willing to pay it forward and and to help other people. And I I just think we'd be a much better world if if we had more Bryce's in the world.

Brice 35:00

Well, I I appreciate that. That that means a lot to me. Thank you so much.

Dr. H 35:04

Well, Bryce, thank you for your time so much. I'm I'm so excited. I'm looking forward to following your journey to Tanzania, and I'm so wish I would be returning with you, but it'll be a unique experience for you, and I'll I'll enjoy seeing those travels.

Brice 35:17

Yes, sir. Well, thank you for having me today. Uh, it was amazing to be able to talk to everybody and promote this. You have a good day, thank you. Thank you, you as well.

Dr. H 35:25

I want to sincerely thank Bryce for his willingness to join us today on the International Service Learning Experiential Medical Education podcast. But most importantly, I want to thank Bryce for the passion that he has shared with us. Bryce is a great ambassador for international service learning, and I'm hopeful that by sharing details from his service learning trips, he has inspired students to step out of their comfort zone and to pursue similar opportunities.