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Pediatric Residency Program

Overview

The pediatric residency program began in 1997. At this time, there were only 7 trained pediatricians in Laos. Since then, 42 pediatricians have been trained and 18 are currently in training, with 6 new residents selected every year. We continue to work toward the ultimate goal of having at least one trained pediatrician in every province by 2010, while also graduating outstanding teachers who can continue to train more doctors in Vientiane.

 

Clinical Activities

 

The residents complete a rigorous three-year training program based on the Western model, rotating through the inpatient pediatric wards, the PICU, NICU, nursery, emergency room, laboratory and outpatient clinic. Rotations are done at Mahosot and Setthathirat Hospitals. Lao Pediatric Teachers and Health Frontiers volunteers lead daily teaching rounds and provide care for patients from all over the country. Residents also rotate through a Well-Child Clinic once per month and participate in a Health Education Curriculum at Mother and Child Hospital.

Educational Activities

Regularly scheduled teaching activities are a cornerstone of the program, and are attended by teachers, residents, family medicine interns and medical students. At Mahosot Hospital activities include weekly Case Conferences presented by pediatric residents, Radiology Conference, Journal Club meetings, and monthly Topic Reviews presented by senior pediatric residents. Afternoon didactic teaching sessions are led by Lao teachers, the Health Frontiers Coordinator, and visiting volunteers. Residents also contribute to weekly Case Conferences held at Setthathirat Hospital. Grand Rounds presentations are held 1-2 times per month at the the Faculty of Medical Sciences, and have brought presenters from around the globe with a wide range of expertise.  Volunteer faculty from Khon Kaen University in Thailand regularly visit for Grand Rounds presentations.

Rotations in Thailand

Pediatric residents all complete several months of subspecialty training at Khon Kaen University in Thailand. This is one part of a very long and important collaboration between Health Frontiers, the Faculty of Medical Sciences in Laos and Khon Kaen University. In addition to their time spent educating residents while in Khon Kaen, KKU faculty also frequently visit Vientiane, giving Grand Rounds presentations as well as participating in bedside teaching.

Social Pediatric Curriculum

In order to balance out the curative training the residents receive in Vientiane and produce pediatricians with comprehensive skills and knowledge, the Social Pediatric Curriculum was developed. Residents rotate through a Well-Child Clinic at Mother and Child Hospital, where they gain valuable skills in growth monitoring, immunization counseling and developmental assessment. All residents attend a one-month didactic course on public health and preventive medicine. Second year residents complete a community survey project together, in which they address an important public health issue in Laos. During the third year, each resident spends one month in a remote location, learning about implementation of public health initiatives and providing capacity-building to local staff through their pediatric expertise.

Lao Pediatric Teachers

After graduating, all residents have gone on to become Pediatric Teachers in the residency program, or have returned to their home province where they are actively involved in patient care and administration of their local pediatric wards. This growing group of pediatricians has been internationally recognized by the International Pediatric Association, and more recently by the ASEAN Pediatric Federation.  

In 2007, Dr. Kongkham Sisouk, one of the first graduates of the pediatric residency program, was the first Lao doctor to attend the International Pediatric Congress in Athens, Greece.

Pediatric and Neonatal Resuscitation Training

In November 2005, Deseret International Charities supported a Neonatal Resuscitation Training course for many graduates and other physicians from around the country. All graduates from the provinces successfully completed the course and were given the skills and the equipment to do this training in their home province. As a result, a national Neonatal Network has formed, and trainings are ongoing throughout the country.

Pediatric Emergency Medicine physicians from the University of Calgary have supported APLS training in 2006 and 2007 for over 20 Lao pediatricians. Facilitated by Dr. Katharine Smart, this will be part of a longitudinal project to improve Pediatric Emergency Medicine training and services in Laos.