For immediate release: January 30, 2007
Contact: Emily Wofford Cobb
Public Relations Manager
702-671-6455
ewofford@unr.edu
Three students from Phramongkutklao Hospital and Medical College start studies
in Las Vegas this week
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The University of Nevada School of Medicine’s agreement with Phramongkutklao Hospital and Medical College is taking a big step forward in 2007 as a student exchange program between the two universities commences.
On Monday, January 29 three students from the Bangkok medical college began a month-long study program in Las Vegas. Saranee Chatdarong, Setthasiri Panthanakul, and Nutkanoc Viravud will act as observers and participate in academic conferences and discussions. Chatdarong, Panthanakul, and Viravud will respectively focus their studies in pediatrics, trauma surgery, and internal medicine. Each department has assigned a faculty member who is responsible for the student’s educational experience and clinical rotations. During their clinical rotations, which will take place at University Medical Center the School of Medicine’s major affiliate hospital, the students will observe patient care however they will be unable to participate in the delivery of care.
“This is an outstanding opportunity for both medical schools as well as University Medical Center,” said Miriam E. Bar-on, M.D., School of Medicine professor of pediatrics and associate dean for graduate medical education. “We are pleased the Thai students have arrived and are eager for our students to participate in the exchange program as well.”
The student exchange program marks an expansion of the School of Medicine’s agreement with Phramongkutklao Hospital and Medical College. During a visit last March from a team of Phramongkutklao physicians and hospital administrators, John A. McDonald, M.D., Ph.D., vice president and dean of the University of Nevada School of Medicine, and Major General Sahachart Pipithkul, M.D., former dean of Phramongkutklao Medical College and hospital director, signed a memorandum of understanding solidifying a collaborative relationship between the two universities. The memorandum committed the two universities to collaborate in research and exchange knowledge and techniques in healthcare service.
Last year’s memorandum led the universities to expand their agreement to include a student exchange program. McDonald and Bar-on recently signed an updated agreement with Major General Sahachart Pipithkul, M.D., Phramongkutklao’s new hospital director and medical college dean. The new agreement states the student exchange program between the two schools will commence this academic year and last for a period of four years.
Chatdarong, Panthanakul, and Viravud are the first Thai students to participate in the exchange and travel to Las Vegas to study. Three students from the School of Medicine plan to travel to Bangkok in March to participate in the exchange program with Phramongkutklao Hospital and Medical College.
The relationship between the School of Medicine and Phramongkutklao was first initiated by Pisespong Patamasucon, M.D., professor of pediatric infectious disease at the School of Medicine in Las Vegas. Patamasucon, a Thai native, had coordinated international relations activities at his previous institution and, upon his arrival at the School of Medicine, began facilitating opportunities for faculty members to attend conferences in Thailand and exchange ideas and techniques with their Thai colleagues.
“I am extremely pleased with how the School of Medicine’s relationship with Phramongkutklao has progressed,” says Patamasucon. “Students and faculty from both universities benefit from the cultural exchange and the experience of learning and observing in an overseas clinic. The opportunity for students and faculty to exchange knowledge and research is tremendous.”
As the state’s only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been meeting statewide healthcare, educational, and clinical needs since 1969. The School of Medicine encompasses 16 clinical medical education departments, including Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Internal Medicine, and Surgery, as well as ten nationally-recognized departments within basic science including microbiology and biomedical engineering. As the largest multi-specialty healthcare focus within the state, the School of Medicine employs more than 185 doctors who both teach and practice medicine throughout Nevada. The school’s statewide faculty physician practice group has a combined 25 different medical specialties with seven physician practice offices located in the Reno-Sparks area and five physician offices located in Las Vegas.
The University of Nevada School of Medicine utilizes a best-practice approach to medicine and is committed to addressing the health needs of Nevada now and in the future. For more information, please visit www.medicine.nevada.edu.
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