Today makes four days since our arrival to Hat Yai, Thailand and already we have a lot to recap!
Day 1 (November 12th)
After 42 hours of flights and layovers, we arrived to Hat Yai where our preceptor, Dr. Sutthiporn, was waiting for us. She, along with her colleague, Fern, got us checked into our apartment and then took us to dinner. At dinner, which was served family style, we ate green curry, pad thai, sea bass, seasoned vegetables, tempura mushrooms, tofu, and lemon soup. For dessert, we had cantaloupe in sweetened tapioca and an apple-ish (the closest comparison we could think of) ice cream.
After dinner, we were taken to Tesco to get essentials for the apartment, i.e. towels and toiletries. Tesco is basically the Walmart of Thailand. A memorable Tesco find was the body wash Kelly purchased. After bathing with it a couple of times, she noticed that the "strawberry" on the outside of the bottle we thought depicted the scent was actually a tomato...not only that, but it contained ingredients to both "whiten and firm" the skin. Thank goodness Liz brought extra body wash. Also of note, granola bars are almost non-existent in Thailand.
Day 2 (November 13th)
We wanted to explore and have breakfast somewhere a little more authentic, but ended up grabbing the equivalent of Thai "Little Debbies" and chocolate milk at one of the many 7-elevens. This set us back approximately $1 each.
We explored nearby streets until it was time for lunch. Our first meal alone? Chicken and rice. After coming back to the apartment and taking a very long nap, we met with Dr. Sutthiporn, Fern, and Pang (pharmacy faculty members) to visit a nearby mountain where got to see the Big Buddha of Hat Yai. The top of the mountain overlooked the beautiful city of Hat Yai.
Afterwards, they treated us to dim sum, a traditionally Chinese steamed meal. We had a variety of steamed foods including vegetables, pork, and shrimp paste. We tried chrysanthemum tea for the first time and loved it.
Days 3 and 4 (November 14,15th)
Pang picked us up from the apartment on our first day and took us to the university hospital located on campus. On our second day, we walked about a mile to the hospital from our apartment and thoroughly enjoyed it (except for the scary road crossing, in which we almost got hit by cars and motorcycles).
Our first week here is an orientation to the many areas in which pharmacy is involved in the hospital. Songklanagraind hospital is an 850 bed academic hospital that serves a large portion of the Southern Thailand population.The pharmacy here is also very large as it provides both in-patient and out-patient services.
After a brief presentation orienting us to the hospital, we had a busy day of tours. We got to see the pharmacist's role in the tuberculosis ward, warfarin clinic, trauma and burn ICU, and drug information center.
So far, a few unique aspects of this hospital we have noticed:
Having a tuberculosis clinic
Service to in-patients and out-patients (who are willing to patiently wait on their prescriptions)
Much of the hospital is open to the outdoors
While we do wear shoes walking around the hospital, before entering many rooms (i.e. the pharmacy compounding area), it is polite to take off your shoes at the door
Large, beautiful courtyards with lots of greenery
Very self-sufficient, for example, they even make their own drinking water using reverse osmosis
It contains a variety of clinics usually seen in an outpatient setting, for example dental clinics
Completely paperless system!
Some similarities we've noticed between hospitals back home and this hospital:
EHR (electronic health records) and CPOE (computerized provider order entry)
Antibiotic stewardship is important here too
Restricted use of some antibiotics (just very different ones from those at home - i.e. vancomycin because gram positive bugs are not nearly as prevalent here, gram negative bugs are far more common)
Compounding room workflow (technician pulls drug needed to compound -->pharmacist checks --> technician compounds order --> pharmacist checks final product)
Multidisciplinary teams (rounds that involve doctors, nurses, and pharmacists)
The evening after our first day of rotation, we experienced Loy Krathong, the annual celebration of water. With the help of Ann (another pharmacy faculty member) we made a krathong (floating boat) decorated with orchids and a variety of other flowers. After construction was completed, our hope was that the boat would float. Success!
And if you're curious what we've been eating in Thailand - wonder no more - so far it's been chicken and rice (all day, every day)...but it's tasty!
In general, we've noticed that the lifestyle here seems to be relaxed. The Thai culture is very hospitable and polite. We are met with many smiling faces everywhere we go.
We recommend you book your plane ticket to Thailand now! The ticket may be expensive, but the rest of your trip will be very affordable as the cost of living here is a lot less compared to the U.S.
Side note: we received no endorsements for this advertisement.
Until our next meal,
Janie, Kelly, and Liz (JKL)