Chiang Mai University: Where Nature Nutures Beautiful Intelligence

Sawasdee ka!

Today's education began early this morning as we ventured to Chiang Mai University (CMU); we will be studying along side the Thai pharmacy students here this week.

Our day began with a brief meeting at the University's campus to meet our fellow students and gather a quick rundown of the activities for the day. To start we drove to the local primary care clinic in town and then separated into two groups to meet with patients in their homes. After the home visit we conducted a short debrief, learned from a public health officer, and finished out our day with lectures from various faculty members within CMU.

To give you a short summary, CMU is the first provincial university in the country as well as the first institution for higher education in Northern Thailand, established in 1964CMU has roughly 35,000 students with 4 campus locations. The university holds many similarities to schools of higher education in the US but has a very strong focus on providing students the opportunity for international collaboration including exchange programs, study abroad opportunities, and international research/presentation. Since the universities opening there has been strong connection with international collaboration including schools all over the world such as China, Australia, the United States, and many other countries. One thing I found very interesting was that all international programs are taught in English, this means that any student who wishes to participate in these programs must have proficiency in reading, writing, and communication abilities in English.

The pharmacy school at CMU was accredited by the Thai Pharmacy Council in 1985. Most of the faculty at the university work part time both at the college and their respective practice site, leaving only 4 full time pharmacists working at the school. Interestingly CMU is slightly different than UNE CoP because they have their own community pharmacy as well as affiliations with various hospitals. Students within the pharmacy program here have three different options for students interested in the field of pharmacy including: bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs.

Because Thailand has a large number of patients using herbal products the school contains 2 medicinal plant museums and a medicinal plant garden for students to learn more closely about these plants and their pharmacologic properties. Though as pharmacy students we see significant use of herbal products in our patients because they feel it must be good because they are natural, thai patients hold a different perspective. Generally speaking, these patients believe that natural products are superior to conventional drugs because plants have been used for centuries and proven to be effective. These patients trust natural products more than precribed medications because the side effects of these drugs are more well known and discussed.

We have all learned so much already from the faculty, staff, and students at CMU! Myself and the other students are exceptionally excited to see what other activities and lectures are in store for us this week.

Until next time,
Casey.