One exciting aspect of travelling is meeting people who are similar to you. In spite of nationality, or race, gender, or religion, friendship and comradeship can develop when you find someone with similar interests.The ISPO Congress in Vancouver gave us this opportunity, it was a great event and I am thankful that I was able to attend. At the Congress I was especially happy to meet again with colleagues from Thailand!
In Bangkok Duane and I were given a tour of the Sirindhorn School of Prosthetics and Orthotics which is a department in the Faculty of Medicine at the Mahidol University. It is a four-year program and upon completion the students write final exams and are certified as Prothetists and Orthotists (CPO). The school has existed since 2002 and is funded and supported by the Nippon Foundation. We met lecturers from around the world, Aaron from Hong Kong, Msechu and Anna from Tanzania, Shin and Kyoko from Japan, and Supattra from Thailand (recent grad from the program).
Fifty students are enrolled in the school and two-thirds are female. I was told that this reflects the health care system in Thailand. Some of the students who I met were Jack, Ju and Sot. They all seemed to enjoy what they were doing and were keen to learn. Most of the students entered the program right out of high school, and because of our (Duane and I) age they thought that we were teachers!
The school was well kept and spacious, the facilities and equipment at the school were impressive. They lacked nothing that we have at BCIT. The students are kept busy with hands on projects and theoretical studies. It seems as though the students were being well prepared.
I look forward to meeting our Thai colleagues again.
Watch the slideshow!
