The results of learning South Korea's advanced medical technology and applying it in medical settings back home have blossomed in Laos. Physicians and other medical professionals trained in Korea returned home and put their skills into practice, and an event to share those outcomes was held in Laos. Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital said it held the "2024-2026 Lee Jong-wook Fellowship Program Clinical Course (Laos, Bangladesh) Outcome-Sharing Meeting" at the Holiday Inn hotel in Vientiane, Laos, on Tuesday.
The event drew about 100 Lao health officials, including Park Won-suk, head of the Laos office of the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare. Representatives also attended from major national and public hospitals such as Mahosot Hospital, Mittaphab Hospital, the Mother and Newborn Hospital, and Savannakhet Provincial Hospital, as well as officials from the University of Health Sciences and local health agencies. Directors of major national hospitals attended as well, demonstrating strong interest in medical cooperation between Korea and Laos.
From 2024 to 2026, Ilsan Paik Hospital invited 21 Lao medical professionals — 14 doctors and seven nurses — to Korea for specialized clinical training under the Lee Jong-wook Fellowship Program's clinical course. The outcome-sharing event presented the results of the three-year training program along with case studies of how trainees applied their own "Action Plans" in the field. The Action Plan is an implementation plan trainees devised to translate the medical technology and clinical experience they gained in Korea into actual improvements in medical services at their home institutions.
First- and second-year trainees presented improvements they had achieved in the field, including enhanced pathology and forensic medicine services at Mittaphab Hospital and strengthened response to acute coronary syndrome and heart failure management at Mahosot Hospital. They also reported improved capacity for treating dizziness and reading electrocardiograms at a district hospital in Phin. Third-year trainees shared plans for future initiatives, such as strengthening initial management protocols for traumatic brain injury patients at Mahosot Hospital and building a system to improve the quality of medical services at Mittaphab Hospital. They also plan to revise the CPR training manual at the University of Health Sciences.
Ahead of the outcome-sharing event, medical staff from Ilsan Paik Hospital have been visiting major Lao medical institutions in person since Monday. They are checking how trainees are applying the medical technology they learned in Korea and providing field-specific consulting. The visiting team includes Professor Koo Hae-won of neurosurgery, Professor Kim Young-ah of obstetrics and gynecology, Professor Choi Pyung-hwa of surgery, Professor Lee Young-gun of neurology, Professor Heo Min-hee of anesthesiology and pain medicine, and Deputy Nursing Director Ryu Hyang-jin. Kim Hoon, head of Inje University's International Development Cooperation Center and a professor of emergency medicine at Ilsan Paik Hospital, is leading the delegation as the project's director.
"This visit is meaningful in that it confirms whether the medical technology learned in Korea over the past three years and the Action Plans trainees developed are actually being applied in Lao medical settings," Kim said. "We will continue our cooperation with local institutions and follow-up support so that trainees can keep using their expertise even after their training ends," he added.
Ilsan Paik Hospital plans to continue local consulting and medical staff exchanges based on its cooperative relationships with major Lao hospitals and health institutions. The hospital aims to help translate the medical technology gained in Korea into improved local medical services. The outcome-sharing event carried added significance as more than a simple invitational training program. It served as an occasion to confirm the results of sustainable international medical cooperation built on the principle of learning in Korea, applying it in the field in Laos, and developing together with local medical staff.
kty@heraldcorp.com
