by Dr. Iain
Corness
Dr. Manoon (Somrantin) is the kind of son every mother
wants to have. The younger of twin boys, a specialist doctor, and a man
who has excelled all the way through life, and yet has not forgotten his
roots, or his debt to his family.
Manoon was born in Lopburi Province, in a very poor
village. He was one of four children and the family was far from being
well off, with his soldier father the main money earner and mother helping
with her small stall at the local market.
He and his identical twin brother went to the local
school, but where his twin was more interested in sport, Manoon was more
interested in books. However, they both shared a competitive nature, but
for Manoon it was for academic excellence. He wanted to be top of the
class - and he was.
When he finished at the local high school he thought
about doing teacher training, but his academic results were far superior
to the level needed to become a teacher. He was told he should go to
university in Bangkok, but replied, “I have no money.” It was then he
was told about academic grants for outstanding students and he was
eligible for one. That was to shape his destiny, and open up the world for
the poor boy from Lopburi. He was accepted into Mahidol University to
study medicine.
There was still the small problem of having enough
money to live on, and like many university students he looked for
part-time work in the evenings to tide him over. However, unlike many
university students, the young undergraduate Manoon took employment that
would help him in his future - he took restaurant jobs where he had to
speak English with the customers. In his late teens, he was already
thinking well into his twenties and thirties - a characteristic which is
not common in young men from any culture. Even at weekends, he would go to
tourist spots, just to be able to listen to and talk with English speaking
foreigners, all to brush up his language skills.
He graduated with distinction and then went to Lopburi
Hospital to work for the next 5 years, this being part of the conditions
of his academic grant. Like all young medicos this means General Practice
work and rotation around the hospital, and for the now Dr. Manoon this
included a stint in administration. Eventually this system will show the
young graduates the branch of medicine they would like to head towards -
there being many, many branches to choose.
Dr. Manoon moved even further away from the scalpels
and surgery and became interested in Internal Medicine as a specialty,
moving to Siriraj Hospital to continue his study in that field. This took
up the next three years of his life, and when he decided that
cardio-vascular medicine was his goal, this required another two years of
study and then a year under supervision. To become a doctor requires six
years of study. To decide on a specialty means the same again!
However, his competitive nature was still evident.
“Cardio-vascular medicine is very competitive for the selection process.
I liked many people to be present at the examinations because it makes me
try even harder to be first.” Not only did he excel, but he won a World
Health Organization grant to study his specialty at Stanford University in
San Francisco.
Even in America while studying his specialty, he was
still on his quest to understand English and the western culture. The way
to do it? As before, he worked part-time in restaurants, conversing in
English with native English speakers, and now in their home country, to
gain even more insight.
After 18 months in America he returned to Thailand to
join the Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital in their new Heart Center. This was not
a case of grabbing the first opportunity, but Dr. Manoon selected the
hospital because it was an international hospital, and his experience with
foreigners and the English language would stand him in good stead.
His own success is still a source of wonder for him.
“To go and study overseas is amazing for poor people. I never forget it,
and I have a (long term) project to do something for the poor people.”
Dr. Manoon is also the first person from his village to go to university,
although one younger sister and a younger brother have followed him and
have been to Japan and USA to further their careers.
Dr. Manoon, who is a very youthful looking 39 years
old, is also one doctor who practices what he preaches. He exercises a
minimum of three times a week, tennis, jogging or swimming and his diet is
predominantly vegetables and fish. A cardiologist who does not want to
have to consult another cardiologist!
His hobbies include stamp collecting and growing his
own herbs and vegetables. I asked Dr. Manoon if this were related to his
life as a child in the village and he agreed that it probably was, though
he did add that by growing his own he knows that there is no chemical
contamination with pesticides.
He has already bought a house for his parents, now that
he is well settled financially, and is getting married later this year -
“After I have prepared everything for my family, then I can do the next
steps for myself.” His fianc้e is a nurse he has known for 10
years - so you can see that Dr. Manoon is not one to rush headlong into
things!
As I wrote at the beginning of this personality profile, Dr. Manoon is
the son everyone wants to have, so I asked him that if he has a son
himself, would he like him to follow his father into medicine? The reply?
“Absolutely no! You have no private life.” For good doctors, their
profession is a true calling. Dr. Manoon is one of those very rare people
who has accepted his call.
