Col. Leana Fox, 18th Medical Command’s deputy commander for nursing, presents Royal Thai Army Maj. Gen. Raynu Pratoommanee with an 18th MEDCOM commander’s coin Thursday during a visit to 121st Combat Support Hospital by a group consisting mostly of Thai military nurses. (Jimmy Norris / S&S)
YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — Members of the nursing staff at 121st Combat Support Hospital spent Thursday giving PowerPoint presentations and tours of the hospital to representatives from the Thai military.
The 63 visitors, mostly head nurses from Thai military hospitals, watched two hours of slides on subjects including the role of enlisted soldiers in nursing, inpatient nursing services and risk management. Then they broke into small groups and toured the hospital.
Maj. Gen. Raynu Pratoommanee, director of the Royal Thai Army Nursing College, said 121st was one of three hospitals in South Korea she was scouting for a potential exchange program.
The other two are a South Korean military medical facility and the Konyang University hospital in Daejeon.
She said participating in an exchange program, something the RTANC already does in several countries, is a requirement for graduation.
Lt. Col. Cheryln Pollard, chief of 18th Medical Command’s Clinical Education division, said nursing exchange programs can be valuable.
“Nursing and medicine are arts. You don’t just do nursing. You practice it,” Pollard said. “The way that nursing is practiced in any country, you have cultural differences that have an influence on nursing.”
As examples she cited the Asian medical practices of massage and acupuncture, which have made their way into Western medicine in recent years.
She said she didn’t know whether or when an agreement for an exchange program would take place.
