My time with Medical Electives was truly incredible. I completed a 4 week placement and spoke basically no Spanish before I arrived. The program felt more like a family than a placement during my time. It is relatively small which allows them to give you personal attention in small classes and personalised placements. It also meant you could form real friendships, with not only fellow students but staff as well. If you have any issues, you can rely on Kevin to go out of his way to help you, which makes all the difference in a foreign country. Our home stay was lovely, with a room and bathroom to ourselves, reliable wifi, delicious food and a kind family. Placement was great, and the weekly health fares were the highlight and really demonstrated how much the program gives back to those in need in the community. Overall, I learnt lots and had so much fun!
I couldn't have asked for a better experience for improving my Spanish language skills! This is an incredibly well organized program that includes classroom time (vocab, grammar, conversation, and medically-focused language classes), time in the hospital, and time in the community with health fairs. My favorite part, though,was probably using the free weekends to travel with other students in the program to Huanchaco, Cascas, and Huaraz - Peru is an amazing place, and traveling is definitely an awesome way to put your language skills to the test! Muchas gracias to Kevin and the whole crew!!
I would highly recommended Medical Electives to any healthcare student looking for a global placement or to learn/improve general and medical Spanish. It was genuinely the most well run and organised placement program I have experienced: Kevin and all the teachers are so friendly and willing to go out of their way to maximise your learning and ensure you enjoy your stay. The host family and their house exceeded my expectations enormously: the house was beautiful (a private room and private ensuite) and our host mum's traditional Peruvian cooking was incredible. I arrived in Peru from Australia knowing zero Spanish and the amount my classmates and I learnt in 4 weeks due to Medical Elective's immersive program is incredible. The weekly health campaigns were super interesting from a healthcare perspective, very rewarding and a great way to practice the Spanish we learnt. Thankyou so much Kevin, Anna and all my teachers for such an enjoyable and memorable placement!
Amazing program. Learned a lot of conversational and medical Spanish. Met a lot of great people. Great teachers. And the director (Kevin) was 100% there for you with anything you needed!
Spending four weeks in Peru with Medical Electives truly was the highlight of my medical school career. They went above and beyond my expectations - between hospital immersion, public medical campaigns, and afternoon Spanish classes, I couldn’t have asked for a more well rounded experience. Not to mention they encouraged us to learn about and experience the rich Peruvian culture. I could not recommend the program more highly!
I've been using Medical Electives to work on my Spanish and hopefully turn it into something useful professionally. They are super flexible with scheduling and will tailor classes to whatever you want to work on. Both instructors I've worked with have been very helpful, especially Lilian Arteaga!
I had very high expectations for this experience and, to my surprise, every one of them was exceeded. This is a wonderfully flexible program, so you can get the most out of it regardless of what health care field you are in. It is also very rewarding to work with some of the underserved populations in Peru through the weekly health campaigns. I would highly recommend this medical elective to anyone, and I can't wait to go back!
I loved this program! everyone was extremely welcoming and kind. I learned so much and the structure of the program really helped to improve and strengthen my Spanish knowledge. Every instructor is amazing and so incredibly good at teaching. I also enjoyed our trip to the women's prison for a health clinic. I also had a fantastic host family and ate very well.
I was able to attend the Medical Electives program for 6 weeks. I was so happy that I chose this experience and this program. The daily schedule was organized and personalized to my proficiency level. The teachers were supportive, kind, patient, and proficient at teaching. They were always concerned with our safety. The program provided safe and comfortable accommodations with local families. The meals that were provided were so healthy and delicious. My Spanish-speaking ability improved in comprehension and speaking. The teachers also provided fun, cultural activities for us to engage in on the weekends and afternoons. I always felt safe. I would recommend this program to any health care professional!
My elective in Peru with “Medical & Healthcare Electives” was one of the best experiences in my life! “Medical & Healthcare Electives” is a wonderful and truly unique program! Going to Peru to learn Spanish and to immerse into the Peruvian culture was always on my Bucket-List. After I had finished Medical School in Germany I took up this project as it was suggested to me by a friend, who had been there before. During my six weeks there I learned the basics both in everyday and medical Spanish in the language school, had the opportunity to gain experience in the hospital, went on campaigns to the prison and retirement homes, lived with a Peruvian guest family, took dancing lessons, learned how to prepare Peruvian dishes and Pisco Sour, went hiking in the beautiful mountains of Peru, learned how to surf, met medical students from all over the world, … ��During the whole program I never felt unsecure. Kevin, the teachers, the medical doctors and the families were taking great care of us! They provided transfer from and to the airport, as to and from the hospital every day (Thanks Martin!). Kevin was always helpful whether it was about the elective in the hospital, problems at the airport or the weekend trips. Thanks to everybody at “Medical & Healthcare Electives”!� 🙂
I absolutely loved my time with Medical Electives Peru! I attended the 4 week program as part of my elective rotation in PA school. I highly recommend this program to anyone who has an interest in improving their Spanish, both medical and conversational! The program is well-organized, and the teachers all truly care about meeting each participants’ needs in regards to lodging, food preferences, and Spanish level. Not only did I feel that my Spanish improved, but we were able to immerse ourselves in a great community, make friends with people from all around the world, and explore a rich culture/beautiful country (and eat delicious food!). No matter what your level of speaking/understanding is, the teachers work hard to meet you where you’re at; I truly believe that all levels of Spanish-speakers in the medical community can benefit from attending this program. I recommend this program 1000% and absolutely plan on returning myself!
Had such a great experience! Definitely improved my spanish. Everyone involved in the program was super friendly and helpful. Cannot recommend enough!
I had a great experience with medical electives. Kevin was a big help when our flight was canceled in Lima and made sure we got to Trujillo safely. My host family was extremely kind and patient as I tried to communicate in Spanish with them. The food was super delicious as well. All the teachers were very good and tried to build their curriculum around my needs and it helped me feel more confident speaking in Spanish with patients. This program provided a lot of opportunities for me as a physical therapy student. I would recommend it to others PT students looking to learn or improve their medical Spanish.
Medical Electives Peru is an incredible program that greatly increased my knowledge of medical Spanish. I was able to participate in a month long program during my 4th year of medical school and enjoyed every second of it! The classes are small and personal and the teachers are absolutely amazing, we still exchange Christmas cards and WhatsApp with Liliam regularly, even 4 years later! I really enjoyed that half of the instructors were classically trained Spanish instructors and the other half were Peruvian medical professionals so that there was excellent instruction and insight into what terms are actually used in hospitals and with patients on a daily basis. Despite having started medical school with almost no Spanish and being mostly self taught until my Medical Elective Peru course, after the course I was able to pass the exam to become a certified bilingual provider at the hospital I work at in the US. Outside of the classroom, our homestay was incredible with a great location, great food, and an extremely kind host mother. Trujillo is a great city with plenty to do and well positioned for weekend excursions as well! I would recommend this program to anyone interested in improving their Spanish and providing better care for their patients.
Highly recommend my experience with medical electives Peru!! From top to bottom, the program was smoothly run by caring people at every level. Not only did I feel that my Spanish improved considerably in my 4 weeks there, but I was able to form bonds and friendships with so many folks, whom I was sad to say goodbye to at the end of my time there. I did a 4 week away rotation as a PGY2 family medicine resident. I did the combined clinical rotation in the morning and medical Spanish classes in the afternoon with a campaña médica once a week in the afternoon. During my time the total number of program participants ranged from 2 to 5 so my experience would be different than if the program was at full capacity. Coming here is a full immersion experience which was very helpful in practicing at all times of the day. Our wonderful Spanish teachers are excellent communicators and educators and also individualized lessons to each of us as learners- most days I had at least one 1-on-1 lesson. The clinical elective portion is also very helpful in getting to put those communication skills into practice with patients. I also found the experience of learning about a different country’s healthcare system very interesting. Overall I will treasure the time I had in Peru and I was sad to have my experience come to an end. Peru is a beautiful country with kind people and delicious food and I would love to return. Who knows, maybe I will be so fortunate as to be able to!