NAME: Elizabeth M. Berggren
DATE OF EXPERIENCE: July 6-29, 1999
LOCATION OF EXPERIENCE: Chiang Mai, Thailand

WHAT DID YOU DO? My area of interest was the death and dying process in Thailand as it related to nursing care. I was assigned a mentor on the nursing faculty at Chiang Mai University who set up a schedule for me which involved an introduction to many of the different facets of health care in Thailand. These included the various levels of hospital care, primary care health centers and health promotion centers for the elderly. I also visited a temple and talked with a Buddhist monk because religion is an extremely important component of Thai culture which strongly influences attitudes toward medical care. I had the opportunity to visit a traditional medicine clinic which dispensed herbal medicines and massage therapies. I had a long conversation with a nurse who is involved in a pilot project for coordinated care of AIDS patients in the community and visited with a director of a program to work with communities where AIDS victims have died leaving the elderly parents and the children to fend for themselves economically. I visited a high school and spoke with an English teacher there. The faculty at Chiang Mai University also arranged a number of sightseeing tours including an elephant camp where I got to ride an elephant, a beautiful temple complex in Chiang Mai and one of the king's palaces. I was also taken to lots of places to shop for Thai products like painted umbrellas and silver jewelry. Even for a nonshopper like me, it was interesting to see all of the different arts and crafts. Finally, I ate lots and lots of wonderful Thai food. The faculty was extremely generous in taking me and the other members of the UW visiting group (2 other students and a nursing professor) to restaurants of all sorts (and paying for all the meals).

FINANCIAL AID: Aside from the Citizens of the World Scholar Award, I relied on my own funds to pay my expenses for the trip. Housing was provided free of charge on campus in Chiang Mai by the Chiang Mai University Nursing School. Many of my meals were also provided by the CMU Nursing School as part of the program which was set up for us as visitors from the UW.

COMMENTS ON HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, MONEY, FOOD, LANGUAGE: I and the two other UW SON students were lodges in a very comfortable house on campus with air-conditioned bedrooms and a kitchen. Public transportation was easily available and cheap. Money exchange was readily available at the bank on campus. Language was not much of a barrier to me because the nursing faculty who dealt with UW visitors spoke English. However, many people in Thailand do not and the Thai language is very hard for English speakers to learn because it is tonal. The same word can mean several different things depending on the tone used. Even when I thought I knew a word, I found that people did not understand me - probably because I was not using the right tone. On the other hand, Thai people are in general extremely gracious and friendly and will make every effort to be helpful even if they don't understand what one is saying.

TIPS YOU WOULD LIKE TO PASS ON: Giving small gifts as tokens of appreciation is an important part of Thai culture. While I brought a few things, I wish that I had brought many more to give to the many people who went out of their way to be helpful to me. It doesn't have to be much and the gesture means a great deal.

WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS PROGRAM TO A UW STUDENT? Yes. Using the COTW scholarship to study in Thailand is a tremendous opportunity to learn about another culture. The nursing faculty went to great lengths to try to meet our needs and expectations about what we wanted to find out.

STRENGTHS OF THE PROGRAM: Thailand is a fascinating country. The people are extremely gracious and hospitable, and the food is great. Speaking specifically about the nursing aspect, the nursing faculty at CMU includes some very accomplished, dynamic nurses who are working very hard to raise the level of nursing expertise in Thailand. Moreover, through their international links, they are working with nurses from other countries like China and Vietnam to raise the standard of nursing care. It is very exciting to learn about what the nurses are doing in the context of the Thai medical system. The faculty worked very hard to introduce me and my fellow students to many different aspects of nursing care. They were very available to answer questions and very responsive to our expressed interests. We were also taken on sightseeing trips on our spare time.

WEAKNESSES OF THIS PROGRAM: This is an observational experience, not a hands on program. If one is looking for clinical experiences doing actual patient care, this program will not provide it.

SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE: I arrived in Chiang Mai a few days before the beginning of the actual educational program and was immediately swept under the wing of a couple of nursing graduate students who toured me around the city, fed me great food and introduced me to Thai culture. I also took a couple of trips with organized tour groups to the northern border of Thailand and to a mountainous national park near Chiang Mai. While tour groups would not have been my normal mode of travel, I think it made my Thai hosts feel better to know that I would be taken care of and not traveling on my own. I was pleased to find out that tour groups can be a good way to meet some pretty interesting fellow travelers. During the program itself, I followed a very full schedule of visits to various health care and other facilities including a primary care center, two health promotion centers for the elderly, two hospitals (one a provincial hospital and one a regional, higher level care hospital), a Buddhist temple, a high school and a home health care visit. Through these visits, I got a better understanding of Thai culture and the Thai medical system as well as the nature of the nursing care given within this context. I also had a long conversation with a nurse involved in coordinating care for AIDS patients in the community. I was especially interested in studying nursing care in the death and dying process, so this wide-ranging exposure to Thai culture and medical institutions helped me to gain insights from many perspectives. I also went on numerous sightseeing trips during the program. The nursing faculty was very generous in setting these up, complete with transportation and meals to places like an elephant camp, a Buddhist temple complex, one of the king's royal palaces and many locales where one could see and purchase Thai arts and crafts like painted umbrellas, celadon ceramic wares, silver jewelry and carved wood objects. In addition, these trips provided a great opportunity to meet and talk with the Thai nursing graduate students who accompanied us.