A Nursing Study Abroad Opportunity (2001)

Quick Reads A Nursing Study Abroad Opportunity During March 1999, the author accompanied a group of 12 baccalaureate nursing students on a two-week trip to Thailand. The trip was arranged and sponsored by the Office of International Affairs at the University of Hawaii. STEPPING OFF THE AIRPLANE into the steamy tropical Saturday night, the heat was overwhelming. A bus waited at the foot of the airplane ramp to take us to the immigration and customs area, where the comfort of air conditioning greeted us. With reassuring, friendly smiles, the officials directed our group to the entry area where we presented our passports and retrieved our bags. Temporarily forgetting the fatigue of our 20-hour ride, we passed through customs. Those who still needed to exchange American dollars for baht headed for the bank in the arrival area. We reassembled and moved toward the exit, where we were met by a throng of vendors who offered taxis or hotels, but we left the terminal and found the metered taxi stand. There we gave the dispatcher the name and address of our hotel and reminded each other to travel at least two per taxi, to keep the cab number receipt, and to make certain the driver turned on the meter. Finally we were off, headed into Bangkok, a 20-minute, eight-dollar cab ride that ended without incident. Because actual clinical experiences would not start until Tuesday, we had a day and a half to be tourists in Thailand. We arranged to meet for breakfast the next morning to plan our sightseeing. Not surprisingly, we were too excited to sleep much, and given the time zone difference, we were all up early. Over a breakfast buffet, which included familiar western foods and local Thai specialties, we planned the first day's outing. We all wanted to see the main sights - the Grand Palace and the reclining Buddha were on everyone's list - and we wanted time to shop and sample more of the wonderful Thai food. We hired an eight-passenger van and a driver to act as our guide for about $40 U.S. for the day. A standard five-hour tourist package would have cost $40 U.S. per person! We were thrilled at our ability - and the driver's willingness - to bargain. On Monday morning we headed back to the airport for our ultimate destination, Chiang Mai, an hour's flight and about 500 miles north of Bangkok. There our hosts greeted us with red roses and a banner exclaiming, Welcome University of Hawaii Nursing Students. The university drivers quickly loaded our bags in the van and we were off to the nursing dorm, where the housemother and several faculty members helped us register and find our rooms. Each of us had a private room with a refrigerator, and we shared a shower and a kitchen area. The modest but very clean unit was close to a variety of shops. A local market, a laundry, a beauty shop, and a cafeteria were located right outside the dorm. Tuesday / Health Care in Thailand An orientation session began with a welcome from the dean of the faculty of nursing and the director of international affairs. Next, faculty from the public health department described the geography, culture, customs, and religion of Thailand and taught us some useful phrases. In the afternoon, they spoke about the local health care system and the most common health concerns. The primary health problem in Thailand is motor vehicle accidents; in particular, there is a high incidence of death from motorcycle accidents. The second most common cause of death is pneumonia, and the third, cardiac disease. Progress has been made in infant mortality, which dropped from 84.3 per 1,000 births in 1964 to 26.5 in 1996 (Bureau of Health Policy and Planning, Ministry of Public Health, Bangkok, 1997). The Thai health care system includes both public and private sector options. Theoretically, all citizens have access to health care, with public facilities available for those with few financial resources and private facilities for the rising middle class and upper income groups. …