With the aim of serving our beneficiaries in Phrao, Project Chiang Mai involves volunteers from NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, and Little Candles Methodist Church in which we have a long-standing partnership with. Inculcating modernized technology and manpower to aid with our large-scale health screening in this rural area of Thailand has always been one of our greatest objectives.
During our recent trip from 7 – 15 July 2024, we invited ten doctors from various healthcare institutions in Singapore, as well as M1 to M5 medical students from LKCSoM. Led by Associate Professor Dr Tham Kum Ying, we also welcomed two from dental specialties who provided basic dental screening services for the children.
Our adults’ health screening team aimed to screen for health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular, kidney and liver diseases by performing a series of diagnostic tests. We conducted urine dipstick tests, electrocardiogram readings and abdominal ultrasound scans, coupled with measured vital signs. This was made possible with the deployment of modern medical technology to the clinics and villages.
Meanwhile, our paediatrics’ health screening team focused on assessing the children’s development and health status by evaluating their physical growth, visual acuity, dental health, as well as the presence of any congenital abnormalities. If a child had been assessed to require immediate medical attention or further work-up, patients would then be referred to more established hospitals in Chiang Mai. Furthermore, our dental team was able to screen for potential tooth decays or caries, while teaching the children appropriate ways to prevent dental related conditions in the future.
In the end, our team managed to screen almost a thousand residents of Phrao for acute and chronic illnesses, improving the health outcomes and bridging the gap between developed and developing regions in terms of healthcare. Home visits were also made to villagers who did not have the capacity to travel to centralised clinics for health screenings.
Throughout the trip, we were able to gain a better understanding of other cultures via working closely with Phrao healthcare workers and translators. Despite the evident language barriers, both communities were more than willing to find a means of effective communication throughout the planning and trip itself. For instance, we had basic Thai lessons in Singapore by our Thai teammate to enable us to converse more effectively with the community there. Some of us furthered these studies by using mobile applications such as Duolingo for extra practice and vocabulary. Overall, we would say that this was a rather eye-opening and meaningful experience for us. It was gratifying to watch our plans come to fruition, and more importantly – a privilege to have served them.
Being on this trip broadened my horizons, allowing myself to be on the ground and learn of the conditions some of these villagers have in the rural areas of Chiang Mai. They are unable to easily seek medical attention when sick unlike in Singapore, and I’m very happy that I got the opportunity to go over, even just once a year, to help them with the medical screenings our project provides. Joel Goh, Secretary-Treasurer
About Project Chiang Mai
The LKCMedicine Medical Students’ Medical Society (MedSoc) is a student club formed by all undergraduate students currently studying in LKCMedicine. Project Chiang Mai is a project under the OCIP committee of LKCMedicine’s MedSoc, working closely with partner organizations overseas to effect change in overseas communities.
