Hands-On Medical Volunteer Experience in Peru

About the Medical Camp in Peru

Global Crossroad's medical camp in Peru aim is to help these poor families and villages by providing basic medical and healthcare programs. The medical camp will be set up in rural areas surrounding Cusco to provide essential healthcare services to local people who are in great need.

As part of this medical volunteering abroad program in Peru, you will provide direct treatment and essential healthcare to the local patients who need it the most: elders, orphans, women, and disabled individuals. You will diagnose them, treat them, and provide the basic health education to them on many topics such as how to purify water to prevent water and fecal-borne diseases, cholera outburst, diarrhea, and stomach bugs.

A local doctor will run the camp and act as your local team leader. Your local team leader will supervise, guide, inform you about the local health issues, delegate tasks, allocate patients, advise you, and intervene in case of communication problems.

Please note that there may be occasions where mobile medical camps cannot be offered to remote villiages and communities. In these situations, volunteers seeking hands-on medical experiences will be placed in the hospital to work in collaboration with physicians.

Skills and Qualifications

Any medical professionals can join the Peru medical volunteering program from medical students to experienced health care professionals working in the medical field. Physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, midwives, gynecologists, dentists, paramedics, EMTs, physical therapists and nutritionists are welcome. If you work within the health care field and your specialty is not listed, you can still be part of this program too.

Your local team leader will be a local doctor

In Peru, Global Crossroad's medical camp will be led, supervised, and coordinated by an experienced local doctor. He or she will stay with you and your group throughout the program period to help you and to make sure that you are having a great volunteer experience in Peru.

Your team leader will give you advice, guidance, and supervision, as well as help you treat patients. Your team leader will be a knowledgeable, qualified, and experienced local doctor who will be your professional point of call during the project. At times, a team of local nurses and interpreters may work with the medical volunteer team.

A Sample Itinerary (one week)

The daily activities or medical camp itinerary will vary depending upon the needs of the communities, interests of the group, goals of the camp, and other related factors. There is no fixed program or itinerary, as things change frequently. Below is just a sample itinerary of the program.

Day 1: Orientation and Q&A session about the medical camp

You Peru medical volunteer experience starts with a comprehensive orientation program in Cusco. You will meet your team leader on the first day. Your team leader will give you a detailed orientation about your Peru volunteer medical program. First, you will learn about the culture, history, geography, politics, demographics and contemporary issues of your host country.

After the introduction, your team leader will give you a detailed explanation of the medical camp and how it is run. You will learn about its goals, location, activities, patients, and the medical conditions that affect them the most. You will then be briefed on your responsibilities as a volunteer, health and safety procedures at the camp, the location of your accommodations, information about your meals and daily transportation, and lastly, what to do and what not to do.

Then, there will be a Q&A session at the end, to clarify any doubts and answer any questions you might still have. You will then go over the daily itinerary for the week. The orientation is essential. You will learn everything you need to know in order to best be able to to serve the local rural communities.

If there is time, you will visit the current location of the medical camp. You will see where you will be working for the first time. If all goes well, you will start volunteering from day one.

Day 2-5: Beginning of your experience as a medical volunteer in the medical camp

Your host family will serve breakfast at 7 am. Then, you will head to the medical camp to be there before 8 am.

8 – 9 am: Set up camp

When you arrive at the camp, the first thing you must do is help set up the medical camp in order to be ready to receive patients. The tasks will vary from cleaning the camp to setting up the registration desk and area for check-ups.

9 – 1 pm: Patient check-ups

At 9 am, when the medical camp doors open, the most important part of your medical volunteer starts: providing medical assistance to local patients. We anticipate that the locals will start arriving around 9am.

The following three to four hours you will be very busy with treatments and assisting the local people.

The local people will be suffering from a wide range of medical conditions, from simple health problems to ear, eyesight, skin illnesses to others that require a particular medical specialization.

Even though the purpose of the medical camp is to provide primary health care services, many people with specific health issues such as ear, eyesight, skin or other medical problem will come to the camp. This will give you a great opportunities to use your professional skills and expertise,

There will be a 30-minute break from 11 am to 11:30 am to rest and to refresh.

1 pm: Closing of the medical camp

At 1 pm, the medical camp will close for the day. After, you will head home, eat lunch, and rest. In the afternoon, you can discuss what will happen the following day and explore the quirky city of Cusco. There will be a local team available to help you at any time.

Day 6– 7: Off days

The medical camp runs on weekdays. During the weekend, you will have time off. You can get out of Cusco and explore villages in the Sacred Valley, trek up Machu Picchu, or visit one of the many cities and colorful Peruvian markets. There are endless options. For the last ten years, we have helped an uncountable number of volunteers to enjoy their time in their host country. Do not hesitate to contact us if you need any help. We can provide you with travel information or organize day trips. Just let us know what you need.

The same program repeats the next week.

Important Notice: The sample itinerary above is just to give you a general idea of how we run the medical camp. Prior to your departure, we will send you a final customized itinerary of your medical volunteer trip in Peru.

Dates

Global Crossroad's medical camp starts on the first and third Monday of each month. However, if you have a small group of more than three volunteers who want to join the program, we can create a customized program to allow your group to start at any date that is more convenient for your group.

Important notice: You can join Global Crossroad's International medical camp individually or in a group. We need a minimum of 3 volunteers to run the camp. Therefore, we request that you invite others to make a small group. Or, if this is not possible, please apply at least 2 or 3 months in advance so we can inform you - at least a month in advance - in case we have to cancel the camp setup due to failing to meet the minimum number of volunteers required.

Fees

Global Crossroad offers the most affordable medical volunteer abroad programs. In comparison to our competition, our cost is extremely affordable. The fee covers your expenses (room, food, daily transportation, services of local team leaders and staffs) and also expenses related to camp (food, water, medicine).

The Global Crossroad's registration fee is $299.

Weekly fee

One Week - $616
Two weeks - $992

What does the fee cover?

• Airport pick up and drop off
• Accommodation
• Comprehensive travel insurance
• Food (3 local meals a day)
• Support & supervision from local doctors and team

What's not included?

• Airfare
• Daily transportation
• Visa
• Personal expenses
• $100 donation to buy and distribute free medicines to local people - you can pay it locally.

Housing, Food, and Supervision

While working as a medical volunteer in Peru, you will either stay with a local host family or in a hostel. In Peru, we have been placing volunteers with a few selected host families for over a decade. Our host families are locally respected members of the community. Their houses are safe and comfortable homes with bathrooms, running water, "western" style toilets, and laundry facilities.. Your host family will cook you three delicious typical Peruvian meals every day.

Global Crossroad has been running its volunteer program in Peru since 2003. We have a very strong team of country coordinators and local staff. The Global Crossroad local team and your host family will work together to give you everything you need in order to make sure your medical volunteering trip in Peru will be a memorable experience. The team will pick you up and drop you off at the airport, and provide daily transportation and related logistical support. However, your team leader will be the most important point of call and support.

Travel and Extending Your Stay

Once you have finished your medical volunteering program in Peru, you can choose to stay longer in Peru, if you want. You can participate in different volunteering programs like teaching English or working with orphans or simply spend some time exploring the country. We will be happy to help you set up your extension.