Khob khun ka Thailand

As I have gone through two years of pre-pharmacy and three years of pharmacy school, a dream of mine has always been being able to study abroad. Finally this dream came true when I was able to come to Thailand to complete one of my advanced professional pharmacy experiences. I am so grateful for this opportunity because I have learned so much. Before coming here, I thought Thailand was going to be an extremely hot place that would have completely different healthcare than we do in the United States. I was right that it is extremely hot, but to my surprise, I was wrong about their healthcare and how different I thought it was going to be. As we traveled throughout Thailand, we visited many hospitals, primary care centers, pharmacies and I realized that although there are differences between Thailand and America’s healthcare systems, there are also a lot of similarities. The largest difference is that Thailand has Universal Healthcare Coverage which covers medical care and prescriptions (not always first line therapy due to cost) while America does not have Universal Healthcare Coverage so patients usually have private insurance that they have to pay for but they usually get first line treatment options.

As a healthcare provider this APPE has taught me how to be more respectful, dedicated, disciplined and culturally aware of my patients. After coming to Thailand, I now have a better understanding of why massages, herbal medications and acupuncture may be used before or even in place of medication. I have learned that Thailand is not necessarily behind in time with American medicine, they just believe in different treatments. I know in the future not all of my patients will be from America, therefore now that I have a better understanding of another culture and their healthcare, I believe I can be culturally sensitive to many of my non-American patients. I am forever grateful that I have been able to come to Thailand to learn about their healthcare system from pharmacists and pharmacy students. I am also very thankful for the time I was able to spend at the temples, playing with elephants and cooking traditional Thai cuisine.


and yes a baby elephant beat me up!

Abbey Henry