By Phyllis Shaikun

If Daniel Rothschild, a second-year medical student at the University of Kentucky, had to write an essay on how he spent his summer, he would have quite a tale to tell. Thanks to the Jewish Community of Louisville's Partnership with Israel program, Rothschild was able to take part in an externship program for med students sponsored by the Western Galilee Hospital (WGH) located in our Central Area Consortium's partnership city of Nahariya.

Rothschild heard about the externship from his mother, Marylee, an internist and chief of staff at the VA Medical Center on Zorn Avenue. As the person responsible for writing the hospital's disaster plan, she had received a brochure last winter about the WGH's Emergency Group Training (ERG) for practicing physician and their externship program. She passed the information on to Daniel, who jumped at the chance to participate.

He first contacted Judy Jochnowitz, international liaison for the Western Galilee Hospital, and then got in touch with Dr. Philip Rosenbloom, the Central Area Consortium's ERG program liaison. He also called Alan Engel, former executive director of the Jewish Community Federation, for approval to take part in the program.

"It was so easy to do," said Rothschild. "I applied six months in advance and planned my summer around the visit. I bought my plane ticket and left on July 4; the program ended on the 30th. The hospital supplied an apartment and I ate lunch there every day. His timing actually overlapped with that of extern Lenny Weiss, a second year medical students from Indiana University, who took him on a whirlwind tour of Sfat on his first day in Nahariya.

During his first week at the hospital, Rothschild shadowed Dr. Norman Loberant, the hospital's chief of radiology, and was able to sit in on conferences with other departments and assist with reading x-rays and CT scans. He rotated in the department of urology under Dr. Engelstein for the second week, and had the chance to participate in rounds and scrub-in on several surgeries.

"I followed the department's first year resident (who didn't speak much English) while he was on-call in the Emergency Room," said Rothschild, "and I was able to learn and assist in performing several basic procedures including inserting IVs and Foley catheters, drawing blood and draining abscesses." He figures he gained an extra week in the program since Sundays are work days in Israel.

During the final two weeks, he did shorter rotations in ear, nose and throat, trauma surgery and orthopedics, where he was able to view a number of different cases ranging from the emergency treatment of a gunshot wound to a reconstructive surgery on the eardrum. Rosthschild feels the rich and varied program provided him with an ideal way to learn.

"As an untrained medical student having just completed my first year in school, I was able to gain valuable clinical experience early in my education," said Rothschild. "What is unique is that I would not have been able to do those things if I had been rotating at a hospital in the U.S. The physicians were generous with their time and hugely accommodating, conducting their rounds and conferences in English and never hesitating to translate for me, a non-Hebrew speaker."

He remarked that schedulers were wonderful about finding him positions in specialties he is pursuing so he could make the most of his experience. They were aware that his externship also functioned as his summer break between years M1 and M2 and were careful to leave him ample time to rest and explore Israel and the surrounding region.

During the last week, he was fortunate in meeting six young people from our Central Area Consortium cities of Omaha, Indianapolis and Dallas, who were working in Israel as part of the Kefiada program. They had a tour guide with them and Rothschild was able to tag along and have a great time.

He personally toured Eilat, Rosh Hanikra, the park on the Golan, Haifa and Tel Aviv in Israel and went on to visit cities in Egypt, Jordan, Greece and Turkey. Things were so flexible that he was able to leave his things at his apartment in Nahariya and travel around for a week before leaving for home.

Although the WGH is state of the art, he notes regrets how many of the country's resources are spent on defense, but they are handling it well. "Overall," he concluded, "the experience well-exceeded my expectations and I am thrilled that I was given the opportunity to participate."