Blogs from North-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 5

Jan 19th, This morning began with a Thai cooking class, taught to us by our Thai buddies! I got to make red curry, which is basically coconut milk, red curry paste, chicken, and eggplant. It was super easy to make, but tasted so good (and a little spicy)! After indulging the curry, pad Thai, papaya salad, butterfly pea juice, and timtubgrab that we made, we headed to another hot spring. Some of my friends bought eggs to cook in the boiling hot spring water, and it only took 10-15 minutes. While at the hot spring, we stumbled upon a massage place that was offering 30 minute foot massages for 120 baht. To put this into perspective, that is less than four dollars in the united states! You better believe that myself and two of my other ... read more

Jan 17th, This morning, I spent an hour on the trauma unit and did a quick dressing change before heading off to shadow on the cardiac critical care unit. On this unit, we got to tour the facility and watch a cardiac catheterization, echocardiogram, and stress test (except I was the patient for the stress test). Everything that we observed in this unit was done very similarly to America except for one thing: Thai people are EXTREMELY blunt when it comes to body image and fitness. They have no problem telling you if you are fat or out of shape, which I now know from first-hand experience. During my stress test, my heartrate went up pretty quickly, and the nurse said, “It’s only been 49 seconds and your heart rate is 170. You not fit.” I ... read more

Jan 15th, Our first full day of shadowing and working in the public hospital here in Chang Mai was very eye-opening. We got a taste of some of the similarities and stark contrasts between their healthcare systems and those in America. A few of the big things that stood out to me is that in Thailand, nurses are responsible for mixing their own IV meds, managing respiratory vents and their settings, and calculating drip titrations. In America, pharmacists mix almost all of the medications, respiratory therapists take primary responsibility for vents, and IV pumps do the job of calculating drip titrations most of the time. Also, the computers do a lot of the work in American hospitals, whereas everything in Nakornping hospital is done by hand. In addition to being on the trauma unit, I also ... read more

Jan 13th, The hotel’s breakfast was great because it didn’t consist of rice. We ate dippy eggs, coffee, fruit, and cereal. Then we zipped off to temple after temple after temple. First was the Blue Temple. It was pretty blue. Then we went to the biggest Buddha statue in the world that was next to another temple. We ended the temple triathlon at the White Temple. It was very white, and I have to admit, it was one of the most beautiful man-made things I have ever seen. In Thailand, it is respectful to cover your shoulders and wear pants or a long skirt into the temples. I thought I was playing it safe with a t-shirt and a maxi-skirt, but apparently the slit on my skirt (thanks mom) was too revealing. The employees tied my ... read more

Jan 11th, This morning we learned all about the community in which we are staying. I wish I had time to go into more detail, but I’ll just say that it was one of the most interesting things to learn about how the community functions. It is so different than what we are used to in America, but yet everything and everyone works together so well to create a fully functioning community that is not reliant on technology, wealth, or individuality. Everyone works together to a make things run so smoothly, even though it looks so different than anything you would see in the US. We focused on community nursing while we were living in the Chiang Saen community, and I learned the benefit of mapping out the community you are practicing nursing in. It really ... read more