Today our group was able to experience what medical training in Peru is like! First thing in the morning, we took a bus to the historical Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. There we toured several buildings that house the San Fernando medical students, walked through botanical gardens, and listened to healthcare presentations by faculty members.

At one of the libraries on our tour, we were lucky enough to run into a historian, Raul, from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. I was very excited to hear about his research on the historical perception of cervical cancer in Peruvian culture. Perhaps his findings could improve the way that we approach our HPV research project in Iquitos and Trujillo.

After the library tour, we listened to a short presentation on the research that the university’s pharmaceutical students do on various plants found in their botanical garden. This was followed by a guided tour through the gardens in which we explored the origins and perceived uses of various plants in the garden. Following the garden tours, we ate lunch in of the the building’s many classrooms, and then listened to presentations from faculty about the state of healthcare in Peru. In these presentations, we learned more about the training that medical students go through and how the healthcare system works in Peru. Before leaving the university and the wonderful people who welcomed us, a few students were able to give a presentation on OMT to faculty from the college. We hope that they found the material useful and insightful!

Hasta lugeo!

-Laura