In May 2024, Drs. Bulat Ziganshin and Dilyara Nurkhametova had the privilege of traveling to Thailand and Vietnam to visit our Nuvance Health Global Health partners.

The visit began at Walailak University in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. We were honored to meet with the President of Walailak University, Prof. Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, and had an official meeting with the Dean of the Walailak School of Medicine, Dr. Chuchard Punsawad, and Dr. Nonthapan Phasuk. During these meetings, we discussed the Global Health Electives and Global Health Scholars Programs and explored opportunities for research collaboration between our institutions. These discussions were highly productive and meaningful, helping to identify areas for further development and strengthening connections between our institutions.

Under the kind hospitality of Dr. Lunla Udomwech, we toured the Walailak University Hospital, followed by a visit to the Hospital of Traditional Medicine with Dean Dr. Chuchard. Dr. Auemphon Mordmuang also introduced us to and facilitated our visit to Sichon Community Hospital in Nakhon Si Thammarat, which is affiliated with Walailak University. This hospital has extensive experience in hosting international students and we hope it will also be hosting our students for their Global Health Electives.

Additionally, we visited Tha Sala Hospital and met with the President of Tha Sala Hospital and leading faculty members, including Dr. Atthayaporn Choomai, our Global Health Scholar Program alumni, Dr. Jackalope Triquetra, and Dr. Wilailak Sriwat and Dr. Wongwat Prommuang, who will join us for the Third Annual Global Health Conference in September 2024.

We were incredibly impressed by the professionalism and high educational standards, and we are very grateful for the exceptional hospitality of our partners. We believe the Thailand site has enormous potential for collaboration and joint projects, providing an incredible and unique experience for our students. We look forward to deepening and developing our connections and projects.

The visit continued in Vietnam, in Ho Chi Minh City. At Cho Ray Hospital, we met with the Deputy Director, Dr. Lam Viet Trung, and the Director of Training and DOHA Center Mr. Lam Dinh Tuan Hai, Head of Training Department Dr. Tran Van Vu, Head of the External Relations Unit Dr. Vo Ngoc Anh Tho, and Dr. Nhuyen Ngoc My Dung. The meeting was very productive as we discussed future areas of collaboration, the needs of both sides, and ways to improve the Global Health Electives and Global Health Scholars Program.

We had the pleasure of meeting with our GH Scholars program alumni and future GH Scholars, who will be arriving in the US for clinical observerships during 2024 and 2025. We were once again convinced of the incredible talent and dedication of our GH Scholars and were delighted to meet them in person. Dr. Du Quoc Minh Quan gave us a tour of the ICU department, and Dr. Trinh Ngoc Thanh showed us Cardiology Department, Cardiac Critical Unit, and the entire hospital. We were incredibly impressed by the professionalism and skills of our colleagues in Vietnam. Cho Ray Hospital can definitely provide a unique and enriching Global Health experience for our students.

On the second day, Dr. Bulat Ziganshin spent the entire day with the Cardiac Surgery Department, led by Dr. An, the head of the department, along with our GH Scholar alumni Dr. Luan Thanh Nguyen and future GH Scholar Dr. Chien Van Pham, whose clinical observership with us is planned for 2024. Dr. Ziganshin also delivered two talks on “Cerebral Protection Strategies for Aortic Arch Surgery“ and “Genetics and Genomics in Thoracic Aortic Disease“.

On the last day of our stay, we visited the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Faculty of Medicine and had a productive discussion with the Dean, Prof. Voung Thi Ngoc Lan, and Dr. Minh Ky about potential areas for collaboration. We look forward to developing our relationship with UMP.

We extend our deepest gratitude to our partners in both Thailand and Vietnam for their incredible hospitality and collaboration. Once again, we are reminded of how fortunate we are to collaborate with such remarkable and capable partners.

We look forward to many years of fruitful and mutually beneficial collaboration.