by Dr. Iain
Corness
The skin specialist at the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital is
Dr. Anna Jaruwarn, a “motherly” person with a beatific smile. As
befits her specialty, she has a flawless complexion, and freely admits to
using sun-block every day, and admonished me for not doing the same!
Dr.
Anna used to spell her first name as “Unna” when she was younger, but
nobody would spell it that way and eventually she just gave up and became
the “Anna” that everyone expected! She was born in Bangkok, the eldest
of three children, and her parents were in the banking and financial
sector.
She was a good student and even skipped a complete year
on the way through school so she finished at 16 years of age. With her
intelligence it was natural for her to continue through university and she
chose medicine as the career she would follow. At age 16 that career
direction was not born of any innate desire, but was at that time the
trendy path for all good students. So she applied to three universities
for a place in the medical course, and was accepted by all three, but
chose Chulalongkorn, as it was the closest to home.
Her academic excellence continued all the way through
university and she graduated top of the class of 155 medical
undergraduates. Again, like most newly graduated doctors she had no real
idea of which specialty she might follow as she progressed through the
long days and nights of internship. However, she again excelled, winning
the award as the best paediatric intern for that year.
Finishing her intern slog, she was then offered a post
back at Chulalongkorn to teach anatomy, and still a little undecided, the
position at the alma mater was a secure one. She spent around two and a
half years there and got married to a medical colleague, a specialist
urologist.
By this stage she knew she missed seeing patients and
had approached the Institute of Dermatology to do some joint research
there with the Chulalongkorn University, but instead ended up working at
the Institute itself. This was to be a five year stint, resulting in her
gaining recognition as a specialist dermatologist.
But her career had not settled, “My life’s path
changed again. The Asian Dermatology Conference was held in Bangkok and I
had the opportunity to take one of the American professors to visit the
institute, which ended up with him inviting me to work in America!”
This was indeed a major step to become a Fellow in
Dermatology at Stamford University. She sat the American Board exams too,
becoming a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. It was also a
major step in other ways, as her husband had to initially stay behind in
Thailand with his career commitments and it was two years before he could
join her in America.
For almost the next 20 years she and her husband then
worked in California in private practice. During that time she raised her
three children (two doctors and one PhD candidate) as well as running her
dermatology practice. “It was tough. It’s very demanding, but my
husband helped with the housework and the raising of the kids.”
However, three years ago there was to be another
change. Her husband felt he wanted to come home to Thailand to work again
with Thai people before he retired. Dr. Anna also realised that it was
time for her kids to look after themselves. “We were so close (as a
family) that I became a little overprotective of the kids.”
One of her husband’s former students was now at
Chonburi Hospital, so the decision was made to come and settle in this
region so that they could provide medical cover for each other. Again Dr.
Anna was to enjoy serendipity. On the plane flying over to Thailand she
read an advertisement for a specialist dermatologist needed at the
Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital and applied. “It was almost too easy. I get an
easy life,” she said on reflection.
I asked her what success meant to her and received the
immediate reply, “I’m a family oriented person. Success is a happy
family life.” I asked her whether she was happy with her children to
which she said, “I’m very proud of my children. I have good kids.”
She expanded, “The secret in raising good kids is to be a good example.
You have to practice what you preach.” Her advice to all youngsters, as
well as her own has been to be high principled, well educated, very
disciplined and honest. She is also proud of the fact that even though the
children were raised overseas that all of them can speak, read and write
Thai. “You have to keep your heritage.”
Her hobbies are simple, “I read books, all kinds,
medical mysteries, Agatha Christie, anything. I would love to write. Maybe
one day I’ll become the Ann Landers of Thailand!” I did mention that
the Pattaya Mail’s Hillary might not be ready to step down yet!
Dr. Anna has no real regrets in her life and is not at
all ambitious. “I’m too content. I want to just work quietly here.
(But) I do enjoy practising here. I am proud that after two years, I have
built up the clientele at the hospital.”
For the ex-pats in Pattaya, we can all be thankful that
we have someone such as the “benign” (not in the medical sense) Dr.
Anna to look after our dermatological needs. A gracious lady who just
enjoys being in our midst.
