My exchange in Peru

Text: Ana Zimmermann

My time in Peru did not start with the exchange right away. I spent a few exciting days exploring the Peruvian cuisine in Lima, before moving on to Cajamarca to visit an IFMSA friend and his family. Since my friend was the current NEO-Out of Peru, he was very much involved in SCOPE exchanges and wanted to introduce me - the current NEO-In of Switzerland - to the dean and principal of his university. They organized a whole ceremony and held speeches to welcome me at their university. It was both exciting and scary to be faced with so many official people in a language that is not my mother tongue. This ceremony was later featured in the local newsletter.

After spending three lovely days in the beautiful hills of Cajamarca, I took a night bus to Piura, where I would be spending the next month on my exchange. Piura is a small city in the northern coastal part of Peru. It’s almost always sunny and warm during the day. I arrived at 4.30am and was picked up by my contact person Victoria. She drove me to my host family’s home, where I was greeted by my host brother Roberth. He showed me around the house and I went to sleep, exhausted.

On my first day in Piura, LEO and her friend picked me up from home and took me to breakfast. They showed me around the city and taught me how to use “public transport”. Those consisted of combi-buses and moto-taxis.

In the evening of my first day in Piura I accompanied Roberth and his friends to a bar, where we had some drinks and then moved on to a wild party at an open-air club.

A few days later I started my internship in traumatology and orthopedics. My host brother accompanied me on my first day and showed me around the hospital. This was the first time I was thrown off by the cultural shock. I’m used to modern hospitals with high-tech equipment and rooms with a maximum of four patients. Now I was faced with rather basic and old equipment, sometimes eight patients cramped up in a room and completely different patient-doctor relationships. While in Switzerland we learn about shared decision making very early on in our studies, in Peru the classic paternalistic model prevails, where patients or relatives more than often are not consulted when making medical decisions.

The doctors were very knowledgeable, up to date on research and especially motivated to teach me. I was allowed to enter surgeries, hold hooks, fasten screws, and suture a lot of times. During consultations I assisted my tutor by doing the

anamnesis, physical exams and ordering further imaging. Two weeks into my exchange, while I was treating a diabetic foot by cutting off the dead tissue, I suddenly started feeling dizzy and was about to pass out. My tutor and two other medical students that were on orthopedic rotations helped me get to the break room. They took really good care of me. That afternoon I got to meet my tutor’s family. His wife invited me to two weddings that were going to take place the next weekend. Of course, I went! In general, people were so welcoming and friend-

ly. My host family was great. My CP Victoria and I went to get dinner in different restaurants almost every night. She introduced me to her friend group. I was invited to all kinds of fun events: cinema, movie nights, to eat ice cream, parties. And even though I was warned to never walk alone at night, to never use moto-taxis after 8pm and to always be aware of my surroundings, I never really felt unsafe. That was due to the fact that I always had company.

As part of the SCOPE exchange program in Peru I held two presentations at the university’s auditorium: one explaining the Swiss health care system, the other about a particularly interesting case during my internship.

In summary: I had the best time of my life. I got to meet so many people, improve my Spanish skills, experience Peruvian culture, and taste their excellent food. I learned a lot about traumatic injuries and their treatments and was able to improve my suturing skills.