Rewarding Experience: UNK, UNMC students provide medical care for people in Peru

UNK student Kennady Schmidt works with a family during a medical outreach trip to Peru. Current and former Lopers assisted at six mobile medical clinics during their two-week stay. (Courtesy photo)

CUSCO, Peru – There are a lot of differences between Kearney, Nebraska, and Cusco, Peru.

The languages, landscape, housing and transportation are among the most obvious.

“It’s definitely a lot different than how we live here,” said Allyson Korus, a second-year nursing student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Kearney.

Korus grew up in Lincoln and attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney before starting nursing school. She and 24 others – including 19 total students from UNK and UNMC – made the more than 4,000-mile trip to South America earlier this summer to experience the culture there and provide medical services for local residents.

“They have hospitals and clinics just like we do, but it’s a lot harder to get quick and efficient access to care,” Korus said. “There are longer wait times for procedures and many people can’t afford the treatments they need.”

With a population around 430,000, Cusco is one of the largest cities in Peru. It’s located in the Andes mountain range – at roughly 11,000 feet of elevation – and once served as the capital of the Inca Empire. Today, the city is known for its archaeological remains and Spanish colonial architecture.

Korus and her team of future health care professionals traveled there in July as part of a medical outreach trip organized through the UNK chapter of VAW Global Health Alliances, an organization that brings medical, dental and veterinary care, health education and nutritional security to underserved communities around the world.

The current and former Lopers spent two weeks in Cusco, working alongside local doctors and pharmacists at mobile medical clinics that provided free care and medication to people living in the area.

Because of the altitude and a diet that’s lower in protein, many children there are anemic, Korus noted, and intestinal parasites are another significant public health concern.

“Our doctors prescribed a lot of iron supplements, as well as medication for parasites,” she said.

Among adults, respiratory issues, arthritis and cataracts are common ailments.

The student interns helped treat patients of all ages while gaining valuable hands-on experience. Their tasks included patient intake, checking vital signs, logging public health data and assisting with exams at a total of six clinics – three in Cusco and three in smaller, rural communities.

More than 1,000 people came to the clinics, including two days when the UNK group partnered with Ohio State University.

“You could tell they were very grateful for the care we were providing and they were all so kind and talkative,” said Korus, who even learned a little Quechua, an indigenous language that’s still common in southern Peru. “They were so proud of their culture and they wanted to share that with us.”

Although the trip cost about $2,000 plus airfare, Korus believes the impact was well worth the expense.

“The money that we’re paying allows these people to have entirely free health care and medication,” she said. “I think it’s really meaningful knowing that we’re providing this service to people who normally can’t access it or who may have a hard time paying for the treatment they need.”

Korus was part of last year’s VAW trip to Bocas del Toro, Panama, and she served as team leader this time around.

For UNK junior Elly Piper, it was an entirely new experience. She had never traveled outside the U.S. prior to the medical outreach program in Peru.

“It was a definite culture shock, because everything was in a different language,” she said. “I took Spanish in high school and studied before we left, but you don’t realize how much it surrounds you until you’re completely immersed in it.”

A pre-medical student from Norfolk, Piper also recognized the limited access to health care there.

“I definitely gained a greater appreciation for the health care system that we have here in the U.S.,” she said. “But at the end of the day, our goal there was the same – to help patients as best as you can. That was very inspiring to see. No matter where you practice, the end goal is always the same.”

In addition to the medical clinics, the UNK team hosted an education day at a rural school where they taught students yoga, played soccer, watched an Independence Day (Fiestas Patrias) play and handed out gift bags donated by CHI Health.

They also had time to explore the city, visit historical churches and cathedrals and check out cultural sites such as Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley.

“College is a good time to go see the world before you start your life,” Korus said. “This is an opportunity to learn about health care from a global perspective and get hands-on experience while also trying new things and stepping out of your comfort zone a little bit. It’s such a valuable experience that you may never get to have again.”

Korus graduates from UNMC next spring, so this is likely her final VAW trip. Piper would like to go again, especially since her roommate is trying to form a UNK dental team and her cousin recently enrolled in the pre-dentistry program.

“I would love to have her go on the trip,” Piper said. “It’s definitely an opportunity more people should consider. It really opens your eyes and gives you a deeper appreciation for what we have here.”

The following UNK and UNMC students, listed by hometown, participated in the medical outreach program in Peru:
Albion – Harrison Kuta
Broken Bow – Anna Lindstrom
Cambridge – Brodie Mitchell
Dodge – Kennady Schmidt
Fullerton – Ethan Ciancio
Grand Island – Gibrana Perez Carbajal
Kearney – Kylee Bober
Kearney – Joslyn Poff
Kearney – Audrey Nelson
Kearney – Ella Bruggeman
Kearney – Skyler Meis
Lincoln – Allyson Korus
Lincoln – MiKayla Ray
Mahaska, Kansas – Eliana Livingston
Malcolm – Zane Zoucha
Marquette – Jacob Nokelby
Norfolk – Elly Piper
Omaha – Zach Ourada
Raymond – Danielle Fortik