I chose to do my four week elective in two fields of surgery at the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) in Taipei, Taiwan. I spent my first two weeks in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the remaining two weeks in Cardiothoracic Surgery. I decided to do my July elective abroad as I felt it would be valuable for me to experience what medicine was like in a developed country setting and how different it was from the South African health system.