Laos

Location: National University of Laos, University of Health Sciences, Vientiane, Laos

UMN Faculty global partner lead contact: Dr. Kristina Krohn

Type of elective: Clinical

Objectives:

• Engage in resident education, as a learner. Learn from Lao residents about unfamiliar diseases, why certain management decisions were made, and how to manage patients without definitive diagnoses. 

• Learn from cases presented in afternoon lectures and go to morning report at least once or twice. It’s a good time to ask Lao staff questions and give them the opportunity to ask you questions.

• Be active in the practice of medicine in a resource-poor country in which you will not have usual support teams: understand basic ventilator settings, know how to calculate caloric needs, help with basic life support measurements

• Spend at least one to two days with outpatient clinic (thalassemia clinic, allergy clinic) primarily observing but also helping and teaching IF appropriate and approved by teams.

• Contribute to a long-term goal that Lao residents have identified. See academic project proposal section.

Pre-readings and videos:

• Meliodosis, Meliodosis, Meliodosis. Seriously, read about Meliodosis. 

• Mahosot Microbiology Review

• Hematologic disorders in children from Southeast Asia. Ped Clin North Am. June 1996.

• Infantile beriberi. MJCMP 2006.

• Causes of non-malarial fever in Laos: a prospective study. The Lancet. July 2013.

• Scrub typhus and tropical rickettisosis. Watt and Parola. Tropical and travel associated diseases.

• Typhoid and paratyphoid fever. The Lancet. August 2005.

• Download Manson’s Tropical Diseases chapters for offline reading before you go, available for free through UMn Biomed library. Must read chapters: Meliodosis, Renal disease in the Tropics.

• HF Pediatric Volunteer Guide. Read up on diseases listed in bold.

• WHO Pediatric Handbook of Hospital Care. Good guidelines, although Laos has more resources than assumed by WHO. 

• See Cambodia site recommended reading 

CDC for Laos

Laos Elective and Background Information