Dr. SOEURN Visal
MD Students Koet Chhuy, Kean Chanthorn, Chan Sokuntheary, Chou Vongmonika, Chenda Sophatsya and Kong Dyiem have recently completed their five-month internships at Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC), Siem Reap and have summarised their experience for UP Voice.
“At the beginning of our Internship, we were excited to have an orientation which included two training courses: Basic Pediatric Life Support and Infection Prevention and Control. Our working schedule was similar to the staff and included day shifts from 7am to 7pm and night shifts from 7pm till the next morning handover time. We were given 3-5 patients per day to cover: we examined patients, wrote medical notes and reported to the attending physicians for their feedback and co-signatures on the patient charts”.
“In the wards they kept us busy with daily rounds early in the afternoon, during which we could examine and discuss difficult or rare cases with senior doctors. Once a week there was a meeting about infectious disease patients, led by the Microbiology team; these meetings have allowed us to get considerable knowledge about the pathogens involved in common infectious diseases in Cambodia. We were reminded how to carefully choose the right antibiotics, at the right doses and for the appropriate durations”.
“AHC also provided us English classes with an Australian teacher every Wednesday, to improve our medical terminology and English grammar”.
“Continuous Medical Education (CME) sessions took place every Thursday and were presented by a senior doctor from a department that differed every week”.
“The first two weeks were very tiring because we had never worked for 12 consecutive hours before. However, we quickly adapted to that thanks to the medical doctors, nurses and other hospital staff. They have been approachable and easy to communicate with, and feedback was always constructive”.
“During these five months we have gained a lot of knowledge and new skills. At the end, we have been rewarded with Certificates of Completion of “Basic Pediatric Life Support” and “Infection Prevention” courses. It has been a great learning time!”
