Chutimon Pahurat, a graduate of Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Medicine, has finally achieved her dream of becoming a doctor in the far South, which has been experiencing a spate of violence for years.
Ms Chutimon, 25, is one of nine medical interns who chose to work in Yala, one of the three southernmost provinces. The other two provinces are Pattani and Narathiwat.
"I wanted to go, that's all. I decided to move to Yala," she told the Bangkok Post.
Ms Chutimon says she wants to follow her dream of becoming a doctor in the deep South as she wants to help people affected by the ongoing violence.
She chose the Yala Regional Hospital in Muang district.
She said she knows her parents worry about her safety because Yala is in one of the conflict zones.
"I know they worry so much about me but I have told them about my dream since I was in my first year and when they realised I was determined to follow through, they let me go," Ms Chutimon said.
Ms Chutimon is one of 2,075 students who graduated from faculties of medicine at universities nationwide this year.
They are required to choose state-run hospitals to do their internship for three years to repay education scholarships.
The interns late last week attended an orientation event at Impact Arena in Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi to select the hospitals.
She said the three southernmost border provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat have often been perceived as dangerous.
Most of the interns who chose to go there believe they would get valuable experience and a good opportunity they would not find elsewhere in the country.
Abdulshukor Kariya, 25, an intern from Prince of Songkla University's Faculty of Medicine, a native of Pattani, said he chose to work at the Yala Regional Hospital because it was close to his home and family.
Mr Abdulshukor said he wanted to become a doctor through doing good deeds for the southern people.
Special offers were provided to the medical students who chose to go to the three southernmost border provinces as encouragement to choose to go to the conflict areas.
The offers include higher pay, better chances of getting a scholarship for higher medical education and the freedom to move after working for one year instead of three like interns in other provinces.
Mazlan Tareh, director of Than To Hospital in Yala, talked about the shortage of doctors in the deep South.
"Four or five years ago it was really hard to find a doctor who would join our team, but this year is the first time we have to allot people out," Dr Mazlan said.
"It will be on the news. If you compare crime rates, the amount of crime in Yala over one year is equal to that over one month in Nakhon Si Thammarat. There, the crime rate is 10 times higher than Yala," Dr Mazlan said.
Permanent secretary for public health Sopon Mekthon told the interns who were waiting to select their hospitals that they must be honest and responsible in their work.
They must not get involved in any corruption and must know how to get along well with other people, especially those in health networks.
Dr Sopon said the new doctors must know how to listen to other people's opinions and accept the differences of their colleagues.
Apart from the medical interns, 620 graduates from the Faculty of Dentistry and 350 graduates from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences attended the orientation event to select their state-run hospitals as required by the government.
