Mae Tao Clinic
PERSONAL DETAILS
| Name | Susan Wang |
ELECTIVE DETAILS
| Country | Thailand | City | Mae Sot |
| Setting | Remote town, developing, tropical | ||
| Local languages spoken | Burmese, Karen, Thai | ||
| Dates of elective | December 2009 – January 2010 | ||
| Year level during elective | 5 | Expected level of knowledge | None |
DETAILS OF INSTITUTION
| Name | Mae Tao Clinic | Population served | |
| Size | 20-30 beds for inpatient departments, As many patients as they like to turn up for outpatients, usually busy in the mornings and quieter in the afternoons | ||
| Departments/specialties available | General Med inpatients and outpatients, Paediatrics inpatients and outpatients, O&G Inpatients and outpatients, Opthalmology OPD, Surgical Inpatients and outpatients, Dentistal clinic with out-reach visits to local schools | ||
| Further description | The clinic is quite popular with medical students from all over the world so make sure you plan ahead | ||
| Student responsibilities | No responsibilities, observation | ||
| Teaching availability | No formal teaching | ||
| Elective contact | Eh Thwa | ||
| Application process | Win7@loxinfo.co.th | ||
| Donations brought/grants | Not required but would be helpful to clinic | ||
TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATION, FOOD, LEISURE AND EXPECTED COSTS
| Accommodation options | Shared house, guesthouses | AUD$ 5-15 per night |
| Accommodation details | Eh Thwa will usually send the students an information pack regarding accommodation, there are also inexpensive guesthouses such as Baan Thai which is popular with other NGOs. | |
| Travel to location (including necessary documentation) | Flight to Bangkok, Passport | AUD$ around $1200 can be cheaper when tickets go on sale to Bangkok |
| Transport within location | Buses go from Bangkok to Mae Sot (can take overnight VIP buses with reclining seats) | AUD$ 30 |
| Food allowances | Very cheap and tasty Thai, Indian and Burmese restaurants | AUD$1-5 will get a good meal |
| Social activities | Lots of other medical students do placements at the clinic and there are also longer term NGOs who do work in Mae Sot. There are local bars and restaurants. Visiting touristy spots in Thailand –Sukhothai is only 3 hours away it is a beautiful temple ruin that you can visit on the weekend. You can also cross the border into the town of Myawadi in Burma. | |
| Recommended vaccinations | Typhoid and hep A | AUD$110 |
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
| The good | The kinds of diseases- lots of tropical diseases, malaria especially, Malnutrition in children, Patients actually dying. Most of the patients are either Burmese or Karen migrant workers of refugees or have illegally crossed the border to seek medical help, doing a placement definitely helps you to understand the difficult political situation in Burma more. |
| The bad | The elective is not very hands on however at the time that I went they were not operating as a new theatre was being built so by the time it’s finished there could be more hands on experiences. Not all the medics that work there speak good English, however they are all keen to learn and improve their English. |
| Further descriptions, comments or advice | The Medics there are very friendly, the fact that there are other medical students there and NGOs who all speak English. The foreigners in Mae Sot are mostly volunteers; there are not very many tourists in the town, which definitely gives you a sense of living in a community of people who care about others. |
| For more information | Mae Tao Clinic has their own website |
