Dr. SOEURN Visal
Dental students Eang Sonita and Ros Manen recently spent a week at UNE following the resumption of our exchange program after COVID. There were accompanied by Deputy Dean of Dentistry Professor Anand Marya. During the visit, they spent time in many departments (including the SIM lab and clinic), attended lectures and seminars, and interacted with many of the staff and students. They also had a chance to visit some outreach sites where UNE dental students are sent to gain additional clinical experience. The UP team were also taken to visit some of the most beautiful parts of the region.
In addition, Professor Anand gave a lecture describing some of the challenging orthodontic cases he has treated in Cambodia, while Sonita and Manen spoke about the dental system, dental education, and the use of silver diamine fluoride in school programs.
Below are some of the comments from Sonita following her return to Cambodia:
“The talk was well received by the students and faculty. The faculty provided lunch for attendees. Many students, supervisors, Drs, tutors, the even the university President attended the presentation and posted a photo with us. They found our community outreach program interesting and asked many questions about education in Cambodia. After the presentation, some of them came to greet us and complimented us for the presentation we did.
The most memorable thing from our visit was our host, the Dean of the College of Dentistry, Dr Nici Kimmes. She was very well prepared for this program. After our flight from New York to Maine was cancelled, she booked us 2 rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn, making sure we were safe. After we arrived in Maine our luggage was delayed, so she brought us to Walmart where we bought some scrubs to wear so we wouldn’t miss the first day in clinic. She assigned one senior student for each session to assist us during the lecture/practicals, and made sure we had the instruments and materials needed for all the activities. We got to observe in the clinic many interesting cases, and the students were so nice. We also met a Cambodian dental assistant supervisor at the Oral Health Center. Her name is Tha and she has been working there for about 7 years already. Tha took us to dinner one night with another dental assistant who is also Cambodian.
One day Dr Nici took us to one of their externship sites at Waterville which is an hour drive from the city, where they provide dental services for low-income people. Dr Nici arranged lunches and dinner for us each day, and picked us up and dropped us off at the student dorm. The dorm we stayed at was nice and clean.
Overall we had a really great trip and felt very welcomed by the faculty and students. An appreciation post of our visit was posted on the UNE College of Dentistry Facebook page. This trip was a once in a lifetime experience which I will always remember. I hope other students will be able have this experience in the years ahead”.
UP EXCHANGE PROGRAM TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND (UNE) IN USA
