ANZCA Bulletin June 2011 - Australian and New Zealand College of ...

Faculty of Pain Medicine
News continued
Honorary Fellow
Associate Professor Pongparadee
Chaudakshetrin, Thailand
Honorary Fellowship
“The Board of the Faculty of Pain
Medicine admits from time to time
distinguished persons who have
made a notable contribution to the
advancement of the science and
practice of pain medicine, who are not
practicing pain medicine in Australia
or New Zealand.”
Pongparadee Chaudakshetrin
BSc (Mahidol) 1972; MD (Madihol) 1976;
FRCAT 1980.
Associate Professor Pongparadee
Chaudakshetrin was born and grew up
in Bangkok, Thailand. She completed
her science degree in 1972 and felt the
calling of the medical profession. She
trained in her beloved Siriraj Hospital
where she graduated from the Faculty
of Medicine, Mahidol University, in 1976.
After her internship in Siriraj Hospital,
she underwent specialist training in
anaesthesiology and was awarded
the Fellowship of the Royal College of
Anaesthesiologist of Thailand in 1980.
In those early days, improving pain
management in her patients started a
stirring in her heart. Realising the much
deficient state of pain management
at that time, she sought out further
training to equip herself. She trained
firstly in Guy’s Hospital, London, in 1985
and then, in 1989, she furthered her
training at the Multidisciplinary Pain
Centre at the University of Washington
in Seattle, US. In 1991, she was
appointed Associate Professor and the
Director of the Pain Management Centre
in the Department of Anaesthesiology,
Faculty of Pain Medicine, Siriraj
Hospital and Mahidol University,
a position she holds to this day.
Associate Professor Chaudakshetrin
has worked tirelessly and championed
the cause of pain control over the past
30 years. She built and organised the
clinical pain services in Siriraj Hospital
to the modern level it is today.
She made oral morphine syrup available
for cancer pain in 1987 which was the
first in Thailand. An anaesthesiologybased
acute pain service and a
comprehensive multidisciplinary team
in the pain clinic were set up in the
early 1990s. This was pioneering work,
and she lead her country where many
were to subsequently follow. Her centre
in Siriraj continues to be the premium
centre for training local pain specialists
in Thailand.
Associate Professor Chaudakshetrin’s
work also took her to the national
and international stage. She was the
founding member of the Thai Chapter
of the International Association for the
Study of Pain (IASP) and is still serving
as its president for the past eight years.
She also served on various national
boards and taskforces responsible
for the development of guidelines for
pain of terminal cancer, palliative
care, neuropathic pain and opioid
availability. At an international level,
Associate Professor Chaudakshetrin
was active in the IASP, serving on a
number of taskforces on cancer pain,
pain in AIDS, pain in the elderly, pain
in developing countries as well as the
World Health Organisation Cancer
Pain Relief Program. Her passion for
improving pain in the Asian region
was also recognised by the IASP. She
was awarded grants for the “Initiative
for Improving Education in Developing
Countries”. With the grants, she has
trained numerous local physicians
from neighbouring countries such as
Bhutan, Mongolia, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam which
in turn has a big multiplier effect for
effective pain management in the
region. She also helped establish local
pain chapters in Mongolia, Myanmar
and Laos.
Despite all her commitments in
her work at Siriraj Hospital, she still
manages to deliver more than 30
invited lectures on the subject at major
national and international meetings and
published some 29 papers on various
pain topics in local and international
peer-reviewed publications.
Associate Professor Chaudakshetrin
is truly a legend in pain medicine. Much
of the good work in acute pain, cancer
pain, palliative care and management
of persistent pain in Thailand and
neighbouring countries can be traced
to her pioneering work and her positive
influence. In no small way, she has
reduced pain and suffering in countless
millions. On a personal level, she is very
charming, friendly and approachable.
She is always smiling, always willing
to help and ever ready to impart and
share her knowledge derived from her
long experience. Her contemporaries
in Thailand address her as “ajarn”
meaning teacher.
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ANZCA Bulletin June 2011