Meghan Moll
Sophomore, PC ’18
Right after school ended, a group of 37 students and I went on a medical outreach trip to the city of Cusco, Peru with the Volunteers Around the World club. The long, over 24-hour journey to get to the Southeast of Peru which is located in the Northwestern part of South America was well worth it for the amazing trip that we all experienced.
Lucky for me, I was fortunate enough to be able to get a spot on this amazing trip. Not only did we set up medical clinics in the city of Peru, but we also all got individual chances to shadow Peruvian doctors, take vitals like blood pressure, temperature, hemoglobin and blood glucose levels, as well as work in the pharmacy where some of us, such as myself, got to administer shots to some of the patients who needed them.
Doing these things, especially when you’re in a medical setting, is extremely hard to do in the United States because of the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) laws that we have in place, but in Peru we could experience all of this and more!
Not only did we have the chance to learn from these medical experiences, but we also were given the chance to learn about the history of Peru and their culture. Some of the really fun and interesting things that a lot of us were able to take part of were:
Also on this trip were a few other Delta Zeta’s that I got to experience this trip with. Here are their stories!
Ashley Eggert
Recent Graduate of 2019, Delta Zeta Alumni
“I really really liked being given the ability to pretty much act as a doctor on my own and I especially liked how we were able to give injections with the help of Rosa (a Spanish doctor that helped us in the pharmacy). I loved how the people in Peru were so connected to nature and gave offerings to Pachamama (‘The Mother Earth’ - the goddess of the Andes mountain range), but was also intrigued as to the contrast in how they so willingly polluted the Earth by littering and the amount of smog everywhere. I also liked that the doctors gave me the freedom to learn by actually doing things like Dr. Juan taught me how to listen to the abdomen and the lungs and just let me do it all by myself when I was shadowing. I felt like I got so much hands on experience with that and being able to give an injection, that was priceless.”
Halle Jaksa
Recent Graduate of 2019, Delta Zeta Alumni
“I think it’s always a great learning and growing experience to go to another country and experience a different culture, especially in the way that we do through Volunteers Around the World. These trips always allow us to not only help and make a difference but also be more than just tourists in the city that we’re in and really see what other cultures are like. I really learned a lot about medicine in Peru and in general, as practice and exposure are both always helpful and great learning experiences. I also learned a lot about the people in Cusco as well and this experience was also great for practicing my Spanish too!
Overall, we went to Peru to help in the clinics and help the people in the city, but in return we learned a lot and got a ton out of it! It was a lot of fun being with the whole group and being able to explore and work in the clinic all as a team!!!”
Kenzie Hare
Sophomore, PC ’18
“My trip to Peru was a once in a lifetime experience. I gained valuable information about medicine, which only made my passion for medicine and working in the medical field grow. While on the trip I learned what it was like to not only work in a clinic setting, but in a completely different part of the world with a whole different culture as well.
The experience in the clinic was fascinating. I learned first hand how to manually take blood pressure on different types of patients, I was able to test children for anemia and adults for diabetes, and I also had the chance to travel around different parts of Cusco. With this opportunity I learned about the culture in Peru, tried different types of food, and was able to learn how to bargain and use bargaining to shop. I saw Machu Picchu, which was in itself a once in a lifetime experience, as well as Lake Humantay, which was a beautiful piece of nature, but a difficult hike. Overall, the trip was one I will never forget.”
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