This essay is a review of the main activities carried out by the Peruvian American Medical Society (PAMS) in terms of health cooperation in Peru. In the last 48 years, PAMS activities have been evolving, going from assistance through medical missions, to capacity transfer and strengthening of Medical Education in Peru. Likewise, PAMS has demonstrated the capacity to provide support in contingency situations, such as the latest activities in support of the country during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The lessons learned from this cooperative experience are analyzed, recognizing future possibilities that may contribute to the strengthening of the Peruvian Health System.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on medical care and medical education in Peru.  In response, the Peruvian American Medical Society (PAMS), a charitable medical organization based in the USA, pursued its medical and educational missions in Peru by adopting virtual learning technology. We developed closer collaborative relationships with several medical schools and the Peruvian Association of Medical Schools (ASPEFAM) while offering a faculty panel of twenty-four members to provide lectures and multidisciplinary webinars in Spanish. We conducted 19 webinars including COVID -19 and non-COVID-19 related topics that over the last two years attracted 14,489 participants from 23 countries. They were the foundation for twenty publications in Peruvian medical journals. Our clinical investigations competition was positively received as was our pilot project on research mentorsh...

As of 2024, medical school graduates who wish to pursue graduate studies in the U.S. or in Canada, they must have graduated from medical schools with quality educational programs endorsed by recognized agencies, capable of granting international accreditation.   The World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) is one of these agencies.  The WFME accepted the new accreditation policy of the Educational Committee for Foreign Medical Education (ECFMG) whereby physicians applying for ECFMG certification from 2024 onwards, must have graduated from a university medical center accredited by a quality assurance agency that is recognized by the WFME. The COMAEM (Mexican Council for the Accreditation of Medical Education) is endorsed by the WFME and other international organizations that ensure the quality of higher education. The accreditation granted by COMAEM is a recognition th...

Several articles prepared by distinguished Peruvian doctors based in the United States in relation to the global pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) are presented. The articles were based on presentations made by these scientists as part of the educational program of the XLVII Annual Convention of the Peruvian American Medical Society (PAMS) that this year was made virtually because the pandemic made it impossible for us do it in person in Arequipa, Perú. The virtual presentations took place on september 17 and 18, 2020 and were made via Zoom. These short and precise virtual conferences were made possible by the co-sponsorship of PAMS, the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru and the Universidad Católica Santa Maria in Arequipa, Peru.

El 21 de enero de 2021 se llevó a cabo el Simposio sobre Carcinoma Gástrico organizado por la Peruvian American Medical Society (PAMS). Esta es una entidad caritativa formada en 1973 por médicos peruanos radicados en USA con dos objetivos: 1. Mejorar la salud médica de los peruanos más necesitados y, 2. Mejorar la educación médica en el Perú.

Gastric carcinoma is one of the most frequent and most lethal cancers in Peru. The risk factors are multiple; highlighting the male sex and advanced age, high salt intake, foods preserved in salt, smoked or dried meats and fish, pickled foods, low refrigeration, low intake of fruits and vegetables with low intake of vitamins A and C, Epstein Barr virus and Helicobacter pylori infections, radiation exposure, multiple genetic factors, low levels of physical activity, obesity, and poverty or low socioeconomic status. The infection of the gastric mucosa by Helicobacter pylori, a type 1 carcinogen, produces progressive and successive lesions that could evolve through a series of intermediate steps, from gastritis to cancer. The damage of the infection in the gastric mucosa can be reversible with the treatment of the infection except when intestinal metaplasia is reached, which often represent...

Presentamos la experiencia del Policlínico de la Peruvian American Medical Society (PAMS) en Chincha, en la ejecución de misiones médico-educativas en la región Chincha. El Policlínico PAMS presta atención médica general y especializada a la población de la zona, seis días a la semana. Además, recibe misiones médicas que vienen generalmente de los EE. UU. Desde 2011, se han recibido 43 misiones médicas. La composición y la naturaleza de las misiones han cambiado con el tiempo. Los primeros años se atraía a especialistas con el énfasis de traer equipos e insumos para mejorar la infraestructura del Policlínico. Ahora estamos limitados por la renuencia de voluntarios de venir al Perú en parte debido a que el gobierno americano considera que viajes al Perú son de alto riesgo. Esta limitación nos ha brindado la oportunidad de hacer misiones médicas juntamente con dos exce...