Sanitsuda Ekachai's blog - Latest comments on English medical school programmes under fire

In response to: English medical school programmes under fire

PaulC [Visitor] — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:16:17 +0000

The keyword causing the consternation is the word "ENGLISH". In a xenophobic Thailand they fear and guard against any intrusion by the wicked West. Dominance by Japan, Korea and China is more tolerated so the proponents should be aware of the hurtles facing them.

In response to: English medical school programmes under fire

AC Robertson [Visitor] — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:12:08 +0000

I'm one of the English speaking patients that has used Thailands medical services. I found the Thai Doctors skill/knowledge levels comparable to the average US doctors. The rural hospitals may not have the newest medical equipment, but that is the same worldwide.

Both my Thai wife and I have received medical care in regular Thai & private hospitals. The major difference is number of patients being served/wait times. Just like in the worlds hospitals, more money equals faster service. But usually, the patient receives the same level of health care. Neither of us have needed any specalized services..

Where they leave the Western Hospitals in the dust is their genuine compansion and willingness to ensure that everyone understands what is happening, with any medical problem.

In response to: English medical school programmes under fire

J C Wilcox [Visitor] — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:54:37 +0000

This relates closely to another blog by Khun Sanitsuda: nutrition and IQ.

The poorer the nutrition,the greater the need for medical practitioners. The junk food and dairy industries supply the medical and drug industry with customers.

It is unfortunate however that in modern medicine the practitioners are not taught prevention only cure by using drugs from the pharmaceutical industry with whom they are closely allied.

When people experience some ailment or illness they are automatically referred to a doctor. The doctor then looks up the appropriate drug and prescribes it.
Nutrition does not form part of the curriculum followed by undergraduates in the medical faculties.

It is rather like a mechanic not knowing what fuel to put in a vehicle.
Knowledgable advice from doctors would help the solution as suggested by Khun Sanitsuda in her nutrition/IQ blog where she says we must fight the publicity from the junk food industry with good advice.

It is unfortunate that BP do not seem to agree with the fact that the dairy industry is equally harmful by promoting the that industry. As Khun Sanitsuda says, mothers should breast feed their babies to build the baby's immune system. Cow's milk will not do that.
BP is an excellent newspaper but it needs advertisers like any other commercial publication and therein lies the nub of the problem: the junk food industies have the money to pay for ads. because the public patronises them. The real answer is sound education for parents and children alike

In response to: English medical school programmes under fire

Victor [Visitor] — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:38:53 +0000

I read recently that our medical doctors only begin to realize that communicable diseases COULD spread in a closed and poorly ventilated places such as hospitals and the like during their meeting in Singapore last month.
And I thought this basic public health fact was supposed to be known already by any grade school student!

In response to: English medical school programmes under fire

The Kid [Visitor] — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:09:07 +0000

I would first like to start by saying that I am a huge fan of Sanitsuda's writing and I have her columns RSS to my inbox, but I am going to address three issues with this column.

First, I do not believe that foreigners are coming to Thailand because of the countries "medical expertise." Foreigners who receive health care in Thailand do so for the same reason that they go to Mexico; it's cheap. If Thailand wants to remain competitive in this market it is more important to keep the prices under control than to have English speaking doctors. This is a goal that would not only retain medical tourism but would benefit the regular Thai citizens for whom she is concerned.

Second, she states that there are not enough doctors but glosses over her stated fact that Thailand does not allow doctors from foreign countries to practice. Imagine if the U.S. did not allow doctors from foreign countries to practice; that certainly would put a deficit in the U.S. system as well. Thailand needs to stop being so isolationists and xenophobic. Not everything is a matter of National Pride (with big letters). If you keep driving the country into the ground for the sake of National Pride what will there be left to be proud of?

Third, she did get a little off point with the final remarks about preventive education. Not a big point, but she is normally much more focussed. There is more about this topic that could be covered without wasting page on sidelines.

Overall, I agree that Thailand will be in trouble if it does not do something about increasing the number of doctors and the access to health care. Why not allow doctors free or state supplemented education if they agree to work in the public hospitals for a period of time. Also, like most things in Thailand, they need to do away with the pay-yourself-out-it policies. If the rich don't want to agree to this, then they can attend medical school in another country. Also, what would be the harm in allowing more foreigners to offer their services and ply their trades in Thailand?

In response to: English medical school programmes under fire

Wilard Van De Bogart [Visitor] — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:15:47 +0000

As an Ajarn who teaches English I agree that putting money before health care is not a healthy direction. But I think if I can better serve Thai students to learn English then their critical thinking skills would be improved which could lead to making sound decisions that would benefit the country as a whole.