Clinical Life
The clinical life program is intended to AMAPERU World volunteers who aim to meet, learn and perform basic medical practices in the Peruvian health system in the different health centers or hospitals. We will evaluate your resume and experience and based off this will look for the best place that suites you. It is not important to have previous experience, but if you do it is important to note so in your application.
AMAPERU World will have workshops and classes given by a medical professional experienced in hospital and community work to better your experiences that you have within your worksite and at the final activity. The topics are: patient history, physical examination, clinical measurement of vital signs, placement of injections, intravenous routes, immunizations, pathophysiology of major diseases by age group. Also perform activities on health promotion and nutrition counseling, counseling on the adoption of healthy habits and prevention of diseases more common in children and adults to the interested public.
After receiving guidance and relevant information, our volunteers will go to their assigned health centers by group (2 to 4 people) led by a health professional in different areas: Medical offices (patient's physical examination and medical assistance some procedures) or area of growth and development of healthy children (immunizations, assessment of growth and development of children 0 to 5 years, counseling to the mothers in early stimulation, in nutrition and immunization schedule) or obstetrician office (care pregnant women, ultrasound, counseling on care and warning signs in pregnancy). Some volunteers will have the opportunity to observe childbirths and minor surgical procedures (optional).
At the end of the clinical life program you will participate in a medical activity that will show what you have learned during your time in Peru. The final activity is designed to help many families that do not have health insurance or a way to receive any type of medical attention. So if you are a student of Pre-meds, medicine, nursing, psychology, nutrition, public health, pharmacy, physical therapy, students interested in working with dentists, obstetricians, etc. this program is for you. Then the patients are going to receive their medications as donation from AMAPERU World.
To understand the experience that you will live in in the clinical life program, we post this letter prepared by a volunteer who previously worked in this program:
Dear Future Volunteers,
First of all, let me congratulate you on wanting to volunteer in Peru. It is truly a remarkable country filled with remarkable people!
I was a volunteer the Summer of 2011 and loved every minute of it! The host families you will stay with are some of the nicest, most caring people you could ever hope to meet while traveling abroad. They try very hard to make you feel comfortable in their homes and listen to any concerns you may have. They take you in as one of their own and are very excited to teach and expose you to the true Peruvian culture and way of life.
I volunteered in a health center, Centro de Salud Victor Larco. The nurses there were extremely friendly and very willing to teach you what they do on a daily basis. Most of my volunteering came during a huge influenza vaccine campaign in which the nurses and volunteers would go door to door in the community vaccinating people. This may seem a little strange, but it is truly an awesome experience. You get to see how many Peruvians live day to day as well as learn about the Peruvian health care system. On days that we didn't go on the flu shot campaigns we would go to Wawa Wasis, like preschools, or colleges, schools for ages through 16, and vaccinate children under the age of 4, keeping up mainly on their Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccines as well as antipolio drops.
There were other days where we could opt to stay at the health canter and help out in the CRED room where parents would bring their children ranging in ages from newborn to 5 years. We would make sure they were developing normally in both their motor and physical developments. Along with the development, vaccines were also administered to keep the children up to date on all of their necessary shots. CRED was only one room in the health center. There was also Triage, where patients charts would be pulled for the doctor visit, a dentist on site, a psychologist, and an obstetrician. We could ask to be placed in any part of the health center, depending on our interests.
In your free time, there is a lot that you can do as well in Trujillo. There are two malls, both with movie theatres, the Plaza de Armas, which has a lot of historical significance, as well as Huanchaco, a beach that is about a 20 minute micro ride away. Micros are one form of transportation in Trujillo and they are always entertaining! On the weekends you are free to travel to other cities in Peru if you want to explore more of what the country has to offer.
This was one of the best experiences of my life and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning about other cultures and desires to volunteer to help a community at large.
Again, congratulations on taking the first steps in what may be the best experience of your life!
Sincerely,
Nicholas Nelson
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, USA
