Practical application is central to any profession, especially medicine. A host of medical students, including five participants from the EnMed program, traveled to Peru to assist in a medical mission during Spring Break in March. The EnMed students, along with students from the Texas A&M University College of Medicine’s chapter of the Christian Medical Association (CMA), traveled to Lima to facilitate and provide free and immediate care at local medical clinics.
“For 23 years, the CMA has gone on these international missions to various locations and multiple sites in Mexico, Uganda and Peru,” said Thomas Peterson, Ph.D., instructional professor of medical physiology and education and faculty sponsor for the annual journey.
“This year, the team consisted of four physicians and 19 medical students, of which five were from EnMed,” Peterson added. The EnMed students included Kihoon Bohle and Hunter Mansfield (M1); Austin Hagen and William Singer (M2); and Nickolas Mundo (M3).
“I hope this trip had a meaningful impact on the patients we had the honor to serve,” said Mundo. “It has always been such a delight to work with such wonderful people, the locals at the church and the students, to make this trip a reality. At the end of the day, this trip is about service, and I hope that all who participated took a moment to reflect on the gifts they have in their lives and know they can have a meaningful impact when they use them to give. It is a privilege to be given a window into a community, to act in it and be accepted, and I am thankful we have been given that opportunity.”
“During the four days of clinic operations in the host church, the team was able to see approximately 500 patients where appropriate medications were provided to the patients that needed them,“ Peterson said. “All the services provided were at no charge. Additionally, free eyeglasses were provided after eye chart testing to determine the strength needed for each pair.”
“This trip reaffirmed my desire to pursue global health in the future,” said Mundo. “Having the opportunity to go back a second time and see some of the same patients again provided me with the only continuity of care I have gotten in medical school. I loved seeing the children grow up; those who were babies on my last visit are now running around and laughing.
“The hugs and bounds that continue to grow from the people you meet. I have really become enchanted by the place, and if given the blessing, I plan to return to Peru to practice full time in the future. I hope with each successive trip we will work to establish a lasting self-sustaining impact on the community that has opened their arms to us even more than we could ever to them,” Mundo added.
“The CMA disseminated free Bibles to patients while the extras were donated to the host church,” said Peterson.
