VAW Medical Outreach Internship

On this two week trip with 14 other UC students to Cusco, Peru, I got the opportunity to learn clinical skills, interact with community members, provide a health lesson to students, and experience their culture. We spent the first couple days getting acclimated to the high altitude of Cusco, going to a local school to teach the students about the systems of the body and play games with them, and learning how to take vitals and do intake in preparation for clinic days. 

Our first big event of the trip was education day. We visited a local school and presented posters we made on the systems of the body. In preparation for education day, I practiced writing and speaking Spanish which I haven't done in about four years. I enjoyed picking up Spanish again, and while I was not very proficient anymore, I was able to utilize resources and practice enough beforehand to be able to present information on the nervous system for the students to understand and learn from. We also brought along temporary tattoos that had different body parts and anatomy-related designs for the kids to put on themselves, and it was so much fun to see all of the kids playing with their friends and see that even though we were in a different country with a different culture, kids still had fun in school. After our presentation, we taught the students "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" in English and Spanish, and also played some fun games with them. Getting to interact with the kids, talk with them, and see what their school was like was very interesting and a rewarding day. 

We spent 6 days in clinics in rural areas of Cusco where I rotated through four stations (intake, vitals, shadowing, and pharmacy) and practiced taking manual blood pressure; drawing blood for blood glucose and hemoglobin tests; and measuring heart rate, height, and body weight. For two days, I shadowed the doctors where I learned how they utilize questions and basic evaluations to diagnose patients and prescribe medications to help manage their pain and illness. Because the clinics were not in a hospital and the doctors did not have much equipment to use, it was insightful to see how the doctors only use their words and listen to the patients to get to the root of their illness. This is very different than how many doctors perform in the US, as we have lots of technology and machines that gather the information that the Peruvian doctors were able to get from talking with the patients. However, it was also apparent that the doctors could not get the full picture without extra equipment and were not able to fully diagnose and treat some of the patients without knowing more about what is happening inside the body, exemplifying the health disparities and antiquated field of medicine in Peru. 

Outside of clinic days and trainings, we were able to explore the city and culture of Cusco through walking around the Plaza de Armas, going to a chocolate factory where we learned how to make chocolate from cacao beans and got to make chocolate, and we were able to go on a two day tour of Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, one of the seven wonders of the world. Our tour guide explained the cultural significance of each stop, the life of the Incas, how the Incas built everything, how the Incas chose the sites to live, and so much more. Our housing accommodation was with a host family, so we got to live in a house with residents of Cusco. Our host dad, Walter,  cooked most meals for us, so we experienced what Peruvian's eat on a daily basis which consisted mostly of potatoes, rice, and chicken. Walter also taught us some Spanish during meals and downtime, and we were able to teach him some English and our culture in the US. Walter helped us to navigate the city and recommended places we should visit, including the Temple of the Sun near the Plaza de Armas. I appreciated living in a host family house compared to a hotel or hostel because I got to experience more of the culture of Peru rather than the tourist experience by talking with Walter and seeing what their houses and food were like. Seeing Machu Picchu and experiencing life in Cusco, Peru was so eye-opening to experience how other countries and cultures live their daily lives and practice medicine, and it has definitely motivated me to plan more trips in the future to continue to see the wonderful world around us!