Touro Osteopathic Students Address Global Health Through Cultural Immersion Experience

This summer, two professors of clinical medicine and ten Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine students, including members of the school’s International Medicine Club.

They ventured to Peru on a medical mission. Below is an account by Saranda Kadriovski, M.S., OMS-II, of their journey.

We met up in the Delta terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport, nine classmates and I – all rising second-year students at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM) – and two of our professors: Dr. Janet Grotticelli and Dr. Grace Vasconez-Pereira.

We gathered to embark on a week-long global health volunteer trip to Peru with the New Zealand-based International Volunteer HQ Limited and Peru’s Maximo Nivel Institute, a study abroad organization. Together, we would provide medical services outside the city of Cusco, Peru.

A Transformative Experience

The medical campaign to Peru was a transformative experience, blending healthcare outreach with cultural immersion. As our team of doctors, nurses, and medical students visited remote villages in the Andes Mountains, the local communities warmly greeted us, eager for medical assistance often inaccessible in their rugged terrain.

Our days started early in the morning. Equipped with basic medical supplies and medications, we set up health clinics in community centers or schools. Most of the medications we were able to give the patients were bought with generous donations from friends and family members of our team through a GoFundMe project we set up to raise money before the trip.

At our makeshift clinics, we recorded patients’ weight, height, BMI, blood pressure, oxygen saturation levels, and blood glucose levels. Following this, we joined the doctors to examine and diagnose each patient. Additionally, we offered fluoride treatments for patients’ teeth and osteopathic manipulative treatments (OMM). Most of the patients we saw, both young and old, suffered from a variety of ailments including muscle pain, headaches, aching joints, respiratory infections, tooth decay and poor vision, as well as more serious problems such as appendicitis and abdominal pain.

Many patients presented with musculoskeletal trauma due to the high volume of manual labor performed in Cusco. One patient I worked on had pain localized to his right knee and hip from a work injury. Fortunately, we were able to provide him with immediate relief with OMM administered by Dr. Vasconez-Pereira.

Other patients had strep throat, one of the easier diagnoses because of the red, swollen tonsils and inflammation in their throats. In an unusual patient, I visualized a deviated uvula, which is indicative of damage to the vagus nerve. Thus far, I’d only read about such cases in textbooks or seen them on PowerPoint slides. Seeing and interpreting these symptoms in person was much different than studying them. These experiences were incredible; each patient discussion was an opportunity to provide not only medical care but also compassionate support.

Peruvian Life and Culture

We stayed in host accommodations in Cusco, which provided great insight into Peruvian life and culture and a rich experience learning about the communities where we worked. We were even able to brush up on our Spanish, hopefully breaking through the language barrier and communicating more effectively with patients than we thought would be possible when we left the U.S.

As our campaign drew to a close, everyone began reflecting on the lives touched and the enduring connections forged. We became better friends and classmates, and also connected with everyone we met along the way. Our efforts, though brief, left a lasting imprint on the communities we served as well as our own hearts. The medical campaign to Peru was a journey of healing and also a testament to the power of compassion and collaboration in global healthcare outreach.

The mission was incredible and fulfilling and I can’t wait to go back to Peru. It gave me the opportunity to apply all that I have learned so far in my medical school journey. I look forward to my next global health program.

Summarizing the trip, Dr. Grotticelli said, “Our global health team was able to develop relationships with the patients, staff, and physicians we worked with, and the students were able to see the unique scope of the challenges facing the people in the areas we visited. The diversity and complexity in these underserved communities emphasized the importance of the mission and goals of Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine.”

The Touro College

The Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine is a private medical school with a main campus in the neighborhood of Central Harlem in New York City and additional campuses in Middletown, New York and Great Falls, Montana. It is a division of the Touro College and University System. https://tourocom.touro.edu/

Photo credit: TouroCOM student mission team members: Aiden Brossfield, Hadas Feygin, Ryan Gifford, Saranda Kadriovski, Casey Kenny, Katherine Mashikian, Leilanee McCarns, Erica Moreira, Hannah Rosenthal and Sehaan Tarique.