I worked in 4 different countries during med school. It changed my perspective on medical systems and patient interactions.

• Vikram Madireddy is a medical student who studied in the UK, Japan, Germany, and Australia.
• He said patients treated him differently in each country.
• He now has an appreciation for all the different ways countries provide healthcare.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Vikram Madireddy. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I started medical school in 2020. When I applied, I knew I would have plenty of late nights and coffee-fueled study sessions, but I never imagined I'd be learning remotely or doing anatomy and physiology labs in full personal protective equipment.

It felt like the pandemic had taken an already troubled medical system in the US and hurled it into an active volcano. That made me wonder how medical systems around the world were coping.

I had traveled to visit family in India, but other than that had never really left New York City until I went to medical school in Tennessee. So, I turned to the internet. I posted on Reddit, asking medical students from around the globe to get in touch.

About 12 people responded, which might not seem so significant, but it changed my life.

I started learning from TV and books about other systems

I started having Zoom conversations with other medical students. It just built my curiosity about medical systems outside the US. I wanted to know what we could learn from them and what they could learn from us.

Soon, I was watching Japanese medical shows and ordering neurology books that were only printed in Australia. Sometimes, I would bring something up in my US classes, and the instructors would ask where I heard it. I told them about my interest in foreign medical systems and how they were helping me learn medicine here in the US.

I started applying for elective courses in other countries. I went to Tokyo for three months. That confirmed for me that I wanted to spend my last year of med school working around the globe.

I saved for two years to fund my travels

During school, I worked in a lab, and I saved a few thousand dollars. I applied to electives around the world and was accepted to programs in the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia. When I spoke to my med school dean, she warned me this approach was unconventional, but I was confident I could do it.

I planned my travel over 100 days and spent about $3,000 on plane tickets. My first stop was in the United Kingdom. While I was there, I took a side trip to Germany, where I presented research findings. I then traveled to Japan, covering the whole country from top to bottom and learning a lot about the different cultures within Japan. Finally, I went to Australia.

I stayed in a short-term rental in the UK and briefly in a hostel in Australia. In Japan and Australia, I also stayed in the homes of other medical students, which helped me save money and gave me a front-line view of their day-to-day routines.

In Japan, I worked to overcome a language barrier

In each place, I was interacting directly with patients and learning from doctors. The most difficult, obviously, was in Japan, because of the language difference. I had started studying Japanese before I went to Tokyo for the first time, and I understood enough of the language that I could take patient histories.

Patients in Japan were amazed I could speak their language. To me, it was an important sign of respect. Still, I sometimes had to ask my teachers or my medical school friend to fully understand what a patient was saying, especially if they used an idiom. One popular Japanese saying is roughly translated as "fall down 7 times, get up 8." However, patients use it to convey their stubbornness around avoiding the hospital or not taking medication. I didn't want meanings like that to get lost in translation.

I learned to appreciate national medical systems

As I interacted with patients and medical systems, I saw differences in how patients spoke with me. In the US, I often have to gently probe patients about what's bothering them, being very sensitive. In Japan, patients were direct, telling me exactly what was wrong and what treatment they wanted. The UK and Australia were similar to the US but had different medications and treatments available.

I ended my trip, having learned about all the different ways countries care for their people.

I'm preparing to take my final medical licensing exam for the UK's national health system. If I pass, I'll start working there in August for at least two years.

I'm grateful that medical school has allowed me to see the world.