At a glance
- This is a volunteer opportunity with Projects Abroad. Devxchange will assist you in choosing the right fit, raising funds with your own campaign page, issuing tax receipts to donors if project meets CRA criteria as a charitable activity. Devxchange will also assist you in onboarding with Projects Abroad.
- Learn from professional doctors and nurses at a hospital, health centre, private clinic, or children’s rehabilitation centre.
- Doctors will walk you through their diagnoses, and talk about the methods they use to treat their patients as you shadow them on their rounds.
- You’ll also get practical experience conducting health checks and delivering educational talks in local communities during our medical outreach days.
Details
- Observation
- Rotating between hospital departments
- Outreach work
Includes/Excludes
Food and accommodation
- Food (three meals a day)
- Airport pick-up and drop-off
- Full induction and orientation by an experienced staff member on arrival
- Transport to and from your work placement
- In-country support and 24-hour back-up from our team of full-time local staff
- Emergency assistance from our international emergency response team
- Project equipment and materials, including access to our database with thousands of resources
- Training and workshops from our experienced local staff
- Regular social events and community activities with other volunteers and interns
- Access to our local office with internet connection
- Certification of project completion
- Access to our alumni services and discounts
- Visa support and advice
- Fundraising support, including your own personalized fundraising website with DevXchange
- Tax Receipts for your donors if activity meets CRA criteria for charitable activity.
- Pre-departure preparation by your own specialist Volunteer Advisor
- Personalized MyProjectsAbroad website, with all the information you need about your project, accommodation and destination
- A free cultural awareness course
- Membership to our volunteer social media groups, to share information and to get in touch
- Support to help you complete registration or internship documents, if applicable
Not Included
- Flights
- Visa Costs (where applicable)
- 10% Admin fee for donations involving tax receipts.
Itinerary
Considering a career in medicine? Interested in gaining clinical experience before or during your medical studies? This international medical internship in Peru is the right move for you.
Overseas medical experience will set your CV apart for all your future applications. Whether you’re a high school student preparing for university, or planning ahead for job applications, this internship will give your CV that extra edge.
The internship runs for a minimum of four weeks, but you can choose to intern for longer to accumulate as many hours of work experience as you would like.
Please note that you must speak an intermediate level of Spanish to join this internship, as not all doctors and supervisors are fluent in English.
We have a number of medical placements in Peru for you to intern at. You can work in hospitals, healthcare centres, children’s rehabilitation centres, or private health clinics. The exact work you do will depend on where you’re placed, but here are the kind of things you could get up to:
- Observe doctors during their work in hospital, consulting, treating, and more
- Rotate between departments like general medicine, gynecology & pharmacy
- Provide basic healthcare and info to underprivileged communities on outreaches
- Treat children with special needs under the guidance of professionals
During your medical internship in Peru, you can get experience in various hospital departments. The longer you stay, the more departments you see. This is a great way to explore specialisations and decide which one you want to pursue in your medical career.
You can choose to spend time in these departments:
- Nursing
- General Medicine
- Midwifery
- Pharmacy
- Gynaecology
- Obstetrics
- Laboratory
- Dentistry
If you’re interested in a specific department, please feel free to contact us and we can help advise you.
Observation
Shadow doctors, nurses, and other medical staff during their day-to-day activities. Listen and learn as doctors diagnose patients and observe the way they treat them. You’ll also see nurses cleaning wounds, doing stitching, and giving injections.
Rotating between hospital departments
We give you the opportunity to watch procedures within a number of departments. Broaden your knowledge by spending time in departments like general medicine, gynaecology, obstetrics, and pharmacy. If you work at the children’s rehabilitation centre, you will gain experience in paediatric treatment as well.
Outreach work
Outreach work takes place separately from your normal hospital work. You’ll visit underprivileged communities with a supervisor, to provide basic healthcare and educational information to those who cannot access these services otherwise. You’ll raise awareness of disease and preventative measures, so the communities you visit can lead healthier lives.
A typical day in Peru will start with you travelling to work bright and early. Once there, your role will be mainly observational, so you will spend the majority of your time watching skilled doctors and medical staff at work.
See how staff clean wounds, put in stitches, give injections, treat children at the rehabilitation centre, and many other practical tasks. Doctors will happily share their knowledge and advice, and welcome any questions you might have.
Work hours vary depending on where you are placed. At the hospital and healthcare centre, mornings are generally busier than afternoons. Your afternoons are therefore likely to be spent doing more administrative tasks and helping with bedside care.
At the private clinic, you will arrive at 8am, accompany doctors while they visit patients from 8:30am-11:00am, and then help doctors and nurses with patient care from 11:00am-1:00pm.
You will have less contact with doctors if you work at the children’s rehabilitation centre. If you choose this medical internship placement, you will spend afternoons at various child care facilities around the city to assist with educational and developmental work.
During your weekends you can explore the amazing city of Cusco, or venture out into the surrounding landscapes to marvel at the natural beauty, observing llamas in their natural habitat.
Cusco
You’ll be based in the bustling city of Cusco. This was once the capital of the ancient Incan Empire and you’ll see countless reminders of this as you walk through the city today.
In Cusco you’ll find busy hospitals and medical clinics. Peru has huge problems with both infectious and non-communicable diseases. This means that there will be plenty of practical cases for you to observe and learn from.
Food and accommodation
You’ll stay with a host family in Cusco. They will welcome you into their home, eager to share their customs and have you teach them about your own culture. We believe that this is the best way to immerse yourself in the culture of Peru and have a truly unique experience.
We will always try to let you live alongside at least one other Projects Abroad volunteer or intern at the same host family. Your room will be modest, but comfortable, clean, and safe.
Your programme fee includes three meals a day.
Free Time and Leisure Activities
Peru is a vibrant country with a mix of activities for every kind of volunteer. Whether you’re into arts, culture, history, or nature, there’s sure to be something for you!
One of the biggest attractions of Peru is the Inca history. There are awe-inspiring archaeological sites like Coricancha, Tambomachay, and of course, Machu Picchu.
Over a weekend, you can take a trip to the village of Pisac, where you can browse bright, eye-catching textile markets. Don’t miss out on seeing the llamas and alpacas too!
There are also lively restaurants, the perfect place to spend an evening relaxing and enjoying local cuisine, like ceviche.
We run a variety of projects in Peru so you’ll likely meet many other volunteers on your trip. It’s the perfect opportunity to connect and travel as a group. However, you’re welcome to travel independently if you prefer.
