How the Medicine Summer Camp for teenagers works: modules and structure
A 16-year-old adolescent who enters a basic life support simulator and practices emergency techniques alongside a specialist doctor is having an experience that most medical university students only have in their third or fourth year of graduation. That's exactly what the Medicine Summer Camp provides.
The program is more than a week of medical-themed talks. It has a formal academic structure, university coordination and a curricular progression designed for young people who want to understand medicine from the inside, before choosing where and how to study it.
What is the Medicine Summer Camp and where does it take place?
The Medicine Summer Program is an immersion program in medicine for adolescents aged 15 to 18, held in Milan, Italy. In 2026, the program will take place between July 5 and 18, with a single class available during that period.
The academic coordination is from Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (UNISR), ranked among the 40 best universities in the world, with a close relationship with the San Raffaele Research Hospital. This university bond is what differentiates the program from initiatives without academic support.
The Medicine Summer Camp is integrated into the Milan ecosystem of international summer camps, which also includes the AC Milan Experience Elite and other science and business programs.
What is the workload and how is daily life organized?
The program totals 50 hours of academic activities distributed over two weeks. The daily structure follows a consistent logic:
- Wake up at 7:30
- Breakfast from 8:30 to 9:30
- Lesson 1:10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Interval: from 11:15 to 11:30
- Lesson 2: from 11:30 to 12:45
- Lunch: from 12:45 to 14:00
- Laboratory activity 1: from 13:45 to 15:15
- Interval: 15:15 to 15:30
- Laboratory activity 2: from 15:30 to 16:30
- Excursion or cultural activity: 17:00 to 19:00
- Dinner: from 19:00 to 20:00.
- Evening activities: from 8 pm to 10:30pm
- Lights off: 23h
Arrival Sunday (5/7) is reserved for welcome and guidance. Closing Saturday (18/7) is the day of checkout.
What are the academic modules in the program?
The content is divided between theory in the morning and laboratory practice in the afternoon, with daily preparation sessions for the IMAT (entrance exam for medicine in English in Italy). The progression over the two weeks follows a logic of increasing complexity.
Week 1: Clinical Foundations
Monday
- Morning: welcome, tour of the facilities and icebreakers
- Afternoon: introduction to the Italian healthcare system and IMAT exam structure (scoring, question types, strategy)
Tuesday
- Morning: a doctor's life and careers in the health field
- Afternoon: practical cellular and molecular biology laboratory; IMAT logical reasoning session
Wednesday
- Morning: Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology
- Afternoon: basic life support and trauma laboratory in the clinical simulator
Thursday
- Morning: introduction to neuroscience
- Afternoon: neurological laboratory with reflex tests and monitoring; IMAT biology and chemistry session
Friday
- Morning: introduction to medical psychology
- Afternoon: doctor-patient communication and clinical interaction skills
Week 2: specialties and research
Monday
- Morning: cardiology and radiology
- Afternoon: workshop with X-ray and ultrasound; IMAT math session
Tuesday
- Morning: introduction to surgery
- Afternoon: anesthesia management workshop on the clinical simulator
Wednesday
- Morning: gynecology
- Afternoon: infectious diseases; IMAT session with practical questions
Thursday
- Morning: epidemiology
- Afternoon: epidemiological outbreak investigation simulation
Friday
- Morning: oncology and medical research
- Afternoon: admission session; closing ceremony
What are IMAT sessions and why do they appear every day?
The IMAT (International Medical Admissions Test) is the exam required by Italian universities for candidates for medical courses in English. UNISR uses IMAT as selection criteria, as do other Italian universities such as Pavia, Turin, and Bologna.
The exam assesses:
- Logical Reasoning and Problem Solving
- Biology and chemistry
- Mathematics and Physics
- General knowledge and English
The daily Medicine Summer Camp sessions cover each of these areas progressively. The objective is not to transform young people into an IMAT candidate in two weeks, but to familiarize them with the format and level of requirement of the selection processes for cutting-edge medicine.
Even for students who do not intend to study in Italy, these sessions develop applied scientific reasoning skills that are valuable in any rigorous selection process.
What practical skills do young people develop in laboratories?
Laboratories are the most differentiating part of the program. Unlike expository classes, they place young people in situations that require decision-making, motor coordination, and clinical reasoning in real time.
The skills developed include:
- Basic life support techniques (CPR and trauma management) on the simulator
- Basic reading and interpretation of X-ray and ultrasound images
- Management of anaesthesia procedures in a simulated environment
- Neurological reflex tests and vital signs monitoring
- Analysis of cases of cellular and molecular biology in the laboratory
- Epidemiological reasoning in an outbreak simulation
None of these experiences require prior health training. Facilitators are professionals with experience teaching young people, and the pace of activities is adapted to the group level.
How does the program address doctor-patient interaction?
The Friday session of the first week is one of the richest in the program from a human point of view. It addresses what rarely appears in medical curricula in the early years: clinical communication.
Young people work on real doctor-patient interaction scenarios, learning to transmit health information clearly, manage patient anxiety, ask open and closed questions, and build trust in a context of pressure.
This module is particularly valuable for adolescents who see medicine as a caring vocation, not just as a technical field. And it's also the kind of skill that sets a good doctor apart from an excellent doctor throughout their entire career.
Does the program include visits to real hospitals or medical facilities?
Yes. The program takes place at the facilities of UNISR, which has direct affiliation with the San Raffaele Research Hospital. This access to the clinical and research environment goes beyond an observation visit: young people use the complex's laboratories and simulators.
Special excursions include a trip to Lake Como and a city tour of Milan, held on Wednesday afternoons of each week, in addition to nighttime cultural activities on other days.
Who are the teachers and facilitators of the program?
The Medicine Summer Camp faculty is comprised of doctors, university professors, and clinical specialists linked to UNISR and the San Raffaele Hospital. The partnership between the Academy and the university ensures that classes are taught by professionals active in the field, not by speakers without clinical training.
This connection with real university professors has a direct impact on the quality of learning and also on the usefulness of the references that young people build. In selection processes for medicine outside Brazil, letters of recommendation or mentions of interactions with professionals from leading institutions have real weight.
For young people who consider medicine as a vocation and are planning applications to international universities, the University abroad from Be Easy offers expert guidance on how to build a competitive profile.
Does the certificate issued at the end have academic value?
Yes. Upon completing the program, the young person receives a certificate issued with academic coordination from UNISR. This document:
- Prove participation in a university level medical immersion program
- It is named after an internationally renowned university
- It can be included in university applications as an attachment to the academic portfolio
- Reinforce the motivation letter narrative with a concrete and verifiable experience
The weight of the certificate is proportional to the young person's use of it in the application process. Adolescents who can clearly describe what they learned, what skills they developed, and how the experience confirmed their decision to study medicine arrive at admission interviews in a much stronger position.
FAQ
Is the program suitable for young people who are considering nursing or physical therapy, not just medicine? Yes. The content covers health fundamentals that are relevant to diverse careers in the field, including nursing, physical therapy, and biomedicine. The primary focus is medicine, but the program has value for any young person with a broad interest in health sciences.
Is it possible to participate without ever having studied biology in depth? Yes. The program builds on the fundamentals and does not require prior advanced knowledge. What matters is curiosity and willingness to actively participate in the sessions.
How does the program deal with young people from different countries and languages? All content is conducted in English. Living with colleagues from different countries is an intentional part of the proposal: the debate about health systems and career prospects is enriched by the diversity of backgrounds.
Is the program only available in July 2026? Yes. There is a single class in 2026, starting on July 5 (residential) or July 6 (daily) and closing on July 18.
What is the difference between the Medicine Summer Camp in Milan and other medical summer camps?
The central difference lies in the partnership with UNISR, which guarantees real academic coordination, access to university facilities, and a certificate with institutional weight. Most similar programs are organized by event companies without this university link.
Be Easy
The Medicine Summer Camp is one of the most complete programs available for young people who want to anticipate contact with a medical career. Be Easy assists families with the entire process, from registration to arrival in Milan, with support in documentation, visa and travel logistics. If your child wants to take this step, contact us.
