A day in the life: Napaporn Saelee
I am a veterinary student in my fifth year studying in Mahidol University which is located in the central part of Thailand. I hope to graduate in May 2022.
Studying veterinary science in Thailand takes a total of six years. On the final year, we have to do an internship on a variety of animals- wildlife and aquatic animals, horses, poultry and small animals etc.
I am sure everyone is aware and somewhat affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a safety precaution, our university has made most of my classes online.
In the before times, this is what I get up to on a typical day as a veterinary student in Thailand:
Start of the day
I live in a dormitory (we call it a hostel) that is near my university. This makes it easy for me to attend my classes because I can simply walk to school.
I usually wake up at 7am, and then prepare myself for the classes by 8am. Usually, I will have my breakfast on the way walking to my class. There are many shops near my university, but most shops do not open in the early in the morning. Fortunately, the vegetarian restaurant that I frequently visit opens early. The food there is so delicious. I eat whatever is available, but my favorite is Panang curry with stir fry mixed vegetables.
Panang curry with stir fry mixed vegetables
When I done with my breakfast, I will walk to my university. Mahidol University is Thailand's first public international college. It is part of Mahidol University and is located on the university's Salaya Campus in Nakhon Pathom Province.
My morning routine:
Our lectures always starts at 8.40 am. One of the topics we focus on is small animal medicine- which is also my favorite subject. After lectures, we have training on ways to communicate with pet owners, how to get the patient’s history and also how to perform a physical exam. In another class we discuss diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and prognosis.
My favorite subjects are cardiology and oncology.
Lunchtime
At 12.30 pm, my friends and I will take a break from classes and have our lunch at the school canteen. I usually order Pad Kaphrao Hed (Fried mushroom with basil) accompanied by a fried egg, it is very delicious and and food in the canteen is very affordable.
Pad Kaphrao Hed
After finishing our lunch, I have a special cocoa drink. I love the taste of it and it gives me the much-needed energy to go through the rest of the day. If I have some extra time during our break, I will play a game on my phone with friends.
My walk to school from my dormitory
Back to school
Class usually starts around 1pm after our lunch break. One of my other favorite classes is“Clinical Problem Solving” in Small Animal Medicine. In this class we are separated into teams and we work together to solve an assigned mystery case.
We are able to ask questions of the “owner” who is the lecturer. After obtaining the information, our assignment is to have discussions within the group about what are the causes of symptoms, how to diagnosis them and how to treat the patient. Every diagnosis and treatment have their associated costs and we have to take that into account when we plan the treatment for the patient.
After school
After finishing with school for the day, I will always look forward to having my dinner. My favorite dish is Som Tum (spicy green papaya salad) with sticky rice. Som Tum is a very popular dish and you can find it almost anywhere in Thailand.
Som Tum
After dinner, I rush to my internship at Prasuarthon Small Animal Hospital that located in front of our school. We participate in an internship from 5-9 pm when we observe how a practicing veterinarian works in hospital.
After that, I go back to my dormitory and rest. I usually go to bed around 11 pm.
My weekends
On Saturdays, I have to train puppies in “Good dog club”, which is a club for pet owners that want their puppies to be well trained. We train the puppies to ensure that they learn good habits. The puppies will learn about what they should do and they will get rewards such as treats when they show good behavior- the “reward-based training method”.
Good dog club
After that, at 5 pm I always go to scenic spot called “MU lake” inside my university for a stroll and find a place to sit while listen music. The view is incredible!
MU lake
On Sundays, I just stay in my dorm for the whole day to work on my research project. Vet students are assigned projects to work on with professors starting from the forth year until we graduate. For my group, we are conducting a research about “A comparison of echocardiographic parameters in dogs with anemia caused by Canine Monocytic Ehrlichiosis and other causes”, sound interesting?
To learn more and to follow me on my journey on Instagram:
Napaporn Saelee
