Battambang Charity Ultrasound Workshop, Cambodia
By Dr Chan Lai Peng
An ultrasound workshop was held in the Battambang Provincial Hospital on 5th and 6th April 2013 under the auspices of Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and College of Radiologists, Singapore. Dr Kunwar Bhatia and Dr Yolanda Lee represented the Chinese University of Hong Kong while Dr Marielle Fortier and Dr Chan Lai Peng represented the College of Medicine.
Battambang is the second largest city in Cambodia and the Provincial Hospital is a 500 bed referral centre for that province. We were hosted by Dr Kak Seila, the hospital director and Dr Ohm Nhel, the workshop organizer. A total of about 40 physicians attended the workshop and about half of the group had some experience with ultrasound imaging. There is a shortage of trained radiologists in the country. Most of the ultrasound imaging is being done by physicians without formal ultrasonography training. The aim of the workshop was to teach the doctors basic ultrasound skills and some common acute pathology. The areas covered included ultrasound of the abdomen and pelvis, vascular ultrasound, obstetric scanning and musculoskeletal ultrasound.
The talks were well received and there were many enthusiastic questions and comments from the audience. The doctors were also very keen to get hands-on scanning experience. All the participants hoped that the workshop would be repeated next year so that we could build on their knowledge. Cambodia still faces many challenges in their healthcare and it was heartening and humbling for us to be able to contribute in our small way to teach ultrasound to some of their doctors.
Fig 1: The speakers and participants at the workshop, with Dr Kak Seila, the hospital director.
