Hello All,

     My name is Ian and I was lucky enough to be selected to partake in this APPE rotation in Thailand.  The first few days in Thailand have been incredible.  At first, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but so far everything has been beyond my expectations.  We had the pleasure to go to TB ward in an infectious disease hospital called Bamrasnaradura Infectious Disease Institute (BIDI).  There we were able to see how the Thai treat their patients with TB.   We also went over HIV and the treatments for patients with that condition.  We first met with a few members of the medical team which included, nurses, pharmacist, doctors, and other hospital personnel.  The medical team at the hospital were very knowledgeable and wicked friendly.   They walked us through a few case studies asking us questions about what would the diagnosis be for the case study and relevant pharmaceutical questions about the treatment.  Then they taught us about the different roles pharmacists have in the country of Thailand as compared to the United States.  There was much overlap, but there were a few notable exception, one being pharmacists in Thailand aren't able to give immunizations.  I really enjoyed and appreciated the time and energy the hospital took to show us around.
     What I really enjoyed was hearing the various treatments that were available in Thailand.  There were some similarities but there were some differences.  An example I especially found it interesting is that the Thai have single ingredient tablets for HIV medication to help reduce the cost to the patient.   It was also fascinating to see how the hospital was set up to minimize the risk of exposing other patients and hospital staff members through the design and precautions.   I enjoyed this opportunity to see the various collaboration between the medical team and the chance to learn more about the whole treatment process for TB including the non-pharmacological side.

-Ian