Hello! My name is Matthew Jokkel and I am currently raising funds for my Clinical Fellowship with Atlantis Innovating HealthCare Education during the summer of 2019 in Zagreb, Croatia. The fellowship, including expenses are around $5,000 and the Clinical Fellowship provides AAMC-compliant physician shadowing in an international hospital setting for 60+ hour over a 3-week fellowship.  This fellowship will help broaden my experience with patient care and learn firsthand on how culture affects healthcare practices. https://atlantisglobal.org/ 

Why shadowing abroad with the Atlantis Fellowship align with my long-term goals 

The Atlantis Fellowship would allow me to truly be emerged into the medical field in another country and shadow doctors while practicing in their fields. This is important to my future as an Ophthalmologist because I will be involved in or I will create a non-profit organization that allows me to provide surgical treatment for patients in third world countries to be able to see again. Having the ability to scrub into surgeries will truly help me realize what it takes to be in an operating room for my career as an Ophthalmologist. The practical experience of being involved with Atlantis Fellowship is invaluable and will help bridge the gap from textbook to actual practical experiences. Being able to view other specialties, experiences, and what it entails to be a surgeon will broaden me to new and exciting ideas and fields of medicine that I have yet to be exposed too. Being able to experience a different health care setting than the United States will also allow me to understand how different cultures and societies function in their own ways. When I am involved in a non-profit, I will be able to teach and guide new volunteers on how to be prepared while we travel to other countries using my experience with Atlantis Fellowship. This will also be a huge motivator to help focus on my academic career to become an Ophthalmologist.

Why I am pursuing a career in medicine and my long-term goals in healthcare 

In my high school career, I attended the Medina County Career Center for Optical Technology during my junior and senior year. Throughout the program my class learned all about the eye from: the anatomy, diseases, treatments, optical field, contact lens fitting, pre-testing, optical measurements, cutting ophthalmic lenses, and volunteering in the field. During my senior year in the program I had the opportunity to work as an apprentice optician at LensCrafters. This was the beginning of my field in a medical background and I planned on becoming a licensed optician so I would be able to have a job while going through business school. After one semester in business school, I knew that business was not the field that would bring me happiness and the feeling of being helpful in my community. I knew that being in the medical field already brought me happiness in my day and working in the field would be helpful to my community at the same time. At first, I was going to become an Optometrist because working with eyes is super important to me. I have been wearing glasses since third grade and having the ability to see all my loved ones, the world around me, and the books to read to become more knowledgeable is one thing I would never want to live without. After spending time at LensCrafters, I started to feel like being an Optometrist would bind me into working at a shopping plaza or in a business setting for the rest of my career. I would not be able to find happiness or fulfillment in helping my community if I were to become an Optometrist. I then researched a career in Ophthalmology, soon to come to the realization that this was the career for me because it would bring me happiness and would fulfill my duty to help my community and the whole world for that matter. I plan on going to Ohio State University for my bachelor's in biology and then go into their Medical school. Once I complete my schooling in medicine, I will then specialize in Ophthalmology. Once I build up enough knowledge, I will then work or build a non-profit that travels to third world countries to do pro bono surgeries that will allow those individuals to see the beauty of the world around us through a whole different kind of lens. Participating in Atlantis Clinical Fellowship will be the first step in my medical career and I truly believe this to be an invaluable experience. 

Cost breakdown

Thank You!
..............................................................................................................................................................................I thank you in advance for your generosity and support for my success in Atlantis Clinical Fellowship! Any amount is greatly appreciated to allow me to give back to the wonderful world around us by helping me fulfill my aspirations in becoming a Pediatric Ophthalmologist!

Matthew Jokkel