Our Story

Medical Electives Peru (Previously, The Medical Elective Network) was developed by Kevin Hurley, who has lived in Peru since 2009 with his wife, Gladys, and their children. Gladys is from Trujillo and qualified as a midwife 20 years ago. Kevin is originally from the UK, where he managed housing projects in London for ten years.

Why The Medical Elective Network

In 2011 we began offering electives and medical Spanish programs for just medical students.   We then felt, and still feel, that other organizations providing student electives in Latin America did not take language immersion seriously.

We decided to create programs with as much focus on medical Spanish language development as on the clinical rotations.  We also saw the opportunity of making a social contribution to the local community through the programs we provide.

Today

Our programs are no longer only for medical students.  We now receive both professionals and students from across healthcare, including medicine, PAs, NPs, PTs, nursing, dentistry, and nutrition.

We now have a mixed team, including language teachers and health care professionals, working to ensure participants develop their medical Spanish skills as quickly as possible.

We believe it is essential that participants have a choice of hospitals and comfortable accommodation options.

Our medical Spanish program and clinical rotations have CME accreditation, reflecting the quality of the programs we offer.

In May 2022 we opened our own health center providing primary health services at accessible prices to the local community.  Over time the focus of our health center will be diabetes and prevention.

Community participation

While on your elective, you will participate in community health fairs providing free medicine and consultations to low-income communities.  Each year we also run free surgical missions in partnership with visiting international surgical teams.

In addition to payments to our homestay families and drivers, we pay fees and donations to the hospitals and clinics with whom we work. This income goes back into the services that they provide. Our partner medical facilities are non-profit or state hospitals caring for those with limited resources.

We pride ourselves on being flexible. Each participant is different and seeks an experience that meets their personal and academic needs.

Please let us know what your ideal elective is to ensure the program that works for you.  Please take a look at the testimonial page to see what program participants think of us and our work.