Internal Medicine
The Internal Medicine Residency program in Laos began in 2002 and has graduated 36 internists to date, with 7 new interns entering each year into the three year program. Some will return to provincial, district or military hospitals to teach and care for patients after residency. Others will remain in Vientiane to mentor and educate the next generation of residents and medical students. Still others will have opportunities to pursue fellowship training and bring their knowledge and experience back to Vientiane to help train other physicians.
Educational Activities and Resources
Lao Internal Medicine Residents with volunteers in 2009
- Regular lectures given by Lao teachers or volunteers
- Grand Rounds presented by Thai sub-specialists
- Case Conferences
- Weekly Radiology Conference
- Monthly Journal Club
- English instruction
- Microbiology and parasitology laboratory training
- Computers, internet access and resident library
- Up-to-Date access awarded for charitable use
- Access to educational videos on www.videosurgery.com
IM residents complete rotations in 3 teaching hospitals in Vientiane and at the University Hospital in Khon Kaen, Thailand. They provide care to patients on General Medicine wards, in the ICU, and on the Pulmonology, Cardiology, Infectious Disease and Gastrointestinal wards. They teach and supervise junior residents and students. Every day Lao residents manage complex patients, often with limited resources for diagnosis and treatment.
Few trained sub-specialists currently exist in Laos. However, several graduates of the Internal Medicine program have had the opportunity to pursue fellowship training. One 2005 graduate has completed a two-year Neurology fellowship in Malaysia and has returned to be the first trained neurologist in Laos. Another graduate will be completing a fellowship in Nephrology in Bangkok, Thailand. Two graduates are currently completing fellowship training in Gastroenterology at Khon Kaen University (KKU), and another is completing a fellowship in Endocrinology.