May 25, 2016
Students in the College of Human Medicine recently traveled to Peru as part of the Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved Certificate Program. The program is designed to allow future doctors an opportunity to experience international health care in underserved areas.
Fourth-year medical students (left to right) Joseph Meleca, Nick Harrison, Johnathan Kao and Mey Yip begin their rotation at a hospital in La Merced, Peru.
Fourth-year student Joseph Meleca cleans impacted earwax from a Peruvian child’s ears during the six-week clinical rotation. To learn about international health care in underserved areas, the medical students assessed the community’s health needs and worked in collaboration with locals to deliver a program that taught skills and shared medical information related to the specific area of concern.
During the six-week clinical rotation in Peru, students in the program complete several community outreach projects. Medical student Nick Harrison (left) works with locals to erect the framework for a school in Belen, a rural community outside of La Merced.
MSU medical student Johnathan Kao led a health education program in a Huancayo school, where he read a story in Spanish to teach children proper dental hygiene. It is one of several health education programs medical students held during the six-week clinical rotation in Peru.
Medical student Mey Yip goes on a field trip with three girls from an orphanage in Huancayo as part of a community outreach project.
Medical students Joseph Meleca (left), Johnathan Kao (second from left) and Mey Yip (second from right) discuss a newborn’s treatment with local medical professionals in a hospital in La Merced, Peru.
Left to right: Medical students Johnathan Kao, Mey Yip, Nick Harrison, Joseph Meleca and John Yong take a break during their six-week Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved certificate program to hike the Incan Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru.
Left to right: Mey Yip, Johnathan Kao and Nick Harrison dress in native Ashaninka clothing to immerse themselves in the local culture during a six-week clinical rotation in Peru.
During the rotation, students led several health education programs. Johnathan Kao (left), Nick Harrison (back row in blue), Joseph Meleca (second row, third from right) and Mey Yip (second row, left) pose with volunteer firefighters in La Merced after teaching a workshop on CPR and basic first responder skills.