All hail the king!

Today, we conducted a home health care visit with patients. We did things like blood pressure screenings, medication reconciliations, and lifestyle assessments. Later in the day we went to the community pharmacy and learned about their smoking cessation programs and the different laws governing Thai pharmacy. We found it interesting that there are minimal regulations on what can be sold without a prescription.

At lunch, we had interesting conversation with the preceptor we were shadowing about the king - King Rama IX. We noticed that around Bangkok there are entire shrines devoted to the king who passed away in October of 2016. In the homes that we visited, there always was a photo of the king and his wife posted on the walls and some people even wore his photo on necklaces. We visited the Grand Palace a few days ago, and there were thousands of people lined up pay their respects - some waiting up to three hours. Thai traditions state that the kings body will be preserved for one year allowing people to mourn. This coming October, his body will be cremated over a 5 day period where people can celebrate his life. He was the worlds longest serving head of state reigning 70 years. His father studied at Harvard, making King Rama IX the only monarch to be born in the United States. Apparently, he was not expecting to become a king and pursued the life of a monk. His brother who was king for a moment, died of a gun shot wound and his dying wish was for his brother to become the next king. From what we can tell, he was really loved by Thai people. 

We are looking forward to visiting the hospital tomorrow and learning more about Thai pharmacy and culture!

Love,
Bradley, Eliane, Joanna, Tiffany and Ian

Lunch from today

Hanging with the Thai students and pharmacists

Shrines of King Rama IX

Thai community pharmacy