Leading Change and Building Tomorrow's Doctors: The Journey of Dr. Bounloth Sodaluck
Dr. Bounloth (Pom) Sodaluck grew up in a family of farmers from Xayaboury province. Her decision to study medicine was sparked by a childhood experience when her injured brother had to wait days for treatment. That moment led her to want a career where families like hers could access timely care.
After receiving her medical degree from the University of Health Sciences in 2015 in Vientiane, she began as a general physician at Xayaboury Provincial Hospital. In 2016, she joined us at Lao Friends Hospital for Children (LFHC) in Luang Prabang, the only pediatric teaching hospital providing 100% free treatment to all patients.
In 2019, she was accepted into a competitive three-year Pediatric Residency in Vientiane, where she trained to gain expertise in hematology, oncology, and advanced diagnostics.
On returning to LFHC in 2022, she was appointed to lead and set up the then High-Acuity Unit, and into a fully functioning Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, which is the first in Northern Laos. She also developed training programs and guidelines that strengthened the capacity and skills of Lao doctors and nurses working in intensive care medicine.
She is currently working as LFHC’s Medical Education Director. She mentors medical students, residents, and young doctors, equipping them with skills and confidence. Most recently, she advanced her training in pediatric cardiology and echocardiography in a training course in Thailand, building diagnostic capacity that will benefit hundreds of children with heart disease as well as training other members of our medical team.
Dr. Pom has become a driving force behind our hospital's clinical excellence and in shaping pediatric care and medical education. Under her guidance, the unit has introduced standardized protocols for intubation, ventilation, and monitoring, enabling the safe management of the most critically ill children. She was a major contributor to the development of evidence-based clinical guidelines for Neonatal Tetanus. These guidelines are also recognised and applied by other healthcare establishments in southern Laos.
As LFHC’s current Medical Education Director, Dr. Pom has been instrumental in the development of the one-year foundation program for our junior doctors and medical interns. Many of her trainees now provide care with greater confidence and skill, multiplying her influence across the health system.
When you talk to Dr. Pom about the future, it’s clear she’s not just thinking about her own career, but about the generations of doctors and patients who will come after her. Personally, she wants to keep building her skills in areas that are still very limited in Laos, like pediatric cardiology and oncology, so that children can get the care they need in Laos instead of traveling abroad.
She explains that her vision is to make the hospital not only a place where children receive high-quality treatment but also the leading training center for Lao pediatricians. She states that if she can give her students the tools and confidence to treat sick children, her impact will multiply far beyond what she can do alone. That’s what drives her passion in teaching. The idea that every doctor she trains will go on to help countless people.
