The Doctors are in...

So we went to this reception honoring the 12 graduating doctors from a specialist training program tonight. The program is run by an organization called Health Frontiers that works with the medical faculty of the National University, local hospitals, and the Ministry of Health here in Laos, and trains specialists in Pediatrics and Internal Medicine. Prior to the launch of the program in 1997 (I think), there were 7 Pediatric specialists in the entire country of Laos. The program has now graduated another 21 pediatricians, and 6 internists.

Anyway, I learned more about the state of medical training in Laos, which is relatively bleak. Generally, medical students do not get textbooks, nor do they see patients while in med school. The entirety of their studies consists of lectures by professors, many of whom just read out of outdated textbooks while the med students take notes. They graduate and are practicing doctors before they see and treat their first live patient.

In addition to the specialist program, Health Frontiers also has been working with the medical school here to change the curriculum to include more updated teaching methods, and have impressed upon the establishment that hands on training might also be a good idea. According to our friend Melanie, a pediatrician from Pennsylvania who is a volunteer trainer here for a year, there is some progress.

AND, there are now 28 specialized pediatricians for the more than 3MM kids in the country instead of just 7, with a further 6 ready to graduate from the program next year. All in all a pretty good, and very necessary program.