Kasaya Tantiphlachiva, MD, a surgical educator and colorectal surgeon from Bangkok, Thailand, was thrilled to learn recently that she was the recipient of one of the International Surgical Education Scholarships offered by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) in 2012.

She was even more excited to find out that she was invited to visit BIDMC, and specifically Daniel Jones, MD , and the Carl J. Shapiro Simulation and Skills Center (SASC), as this was her top choice of sites to visit when she was in North America for the annual ACS Clinical Congress in Chicago. "This is a prestigious travel award sponsored by American College of Surgeons each year," says Jones. "We were honored to be Dr. Tantiphlachiva's top choice."

In October, Tantiphlachiva spent four activity-filled days at BIDMC. She spent time in the OR and informational meetings with surgeons Jones, Tara Kent, MD, Mark Callery, MD, Vitaliy Poylin, MD, Alok Gupta, MD, and department Chairman Elliot Chaikof, MD, PhD . She also met with John Pawlowski, MD, PhD, Anesthesiology/Critical Care; David Roberts, MD, Shapiro Institute for Education and Research; and David Fobert, SASC Operations Manager.

Tantiphlachiva also attended Surgical Grand Rounds, Medical Education Day at Harvard Medical School, and a weight loss surgery research meeting. Since one of her main reasons for selecting BIDMC was to learn more about simulation in surgical education, Tantiphlachiva spent considerable time in the SASC.

"My objectives, which were definitely met, were to observe how to organize and systematize the training of medical students, surgical residents, and fellows effectively, to learn about the new teaching technologies and techniques, and to expand my views in surgical education," says Tantiphlachiva. She has taken this knowledge back to her home institution, Chulalongkorn University, which is one of the largest medical schools in Thailand.