Driven by a passion for biology and the sheer joy of being around children, ‘Dr Bum’—Asst. Prof. Dr Pintip Suchartlikitwong, a paediatric infectious disease specialist—chose a career dealing with tiny pathogens in tiny people. She was on the frontline handling the infamous COVID-19 virus from the very first wave of the outbreak in Thailand. Let us take a glimpse into the life of a doctor whose days are spent with children and microscopes.
A Daughter Her Father is Proud Of
“When I was a child, I didn’t really understand what my father always used to say. But as I grew older, I came to realise how proud he was of me as his eldest daughter—setting a good example in my studies so that my two younger siblings could look up to me, ultimately leading all of us to succeed in life.”
Dr Bum fondly recalls the memories of her father, the driving force behind her decision to become a doctor. Despite being a Chinese immigrant with only a primary school education who started with nothing, he worked his way up to build a middle-class family alongside her mother, who worked whilst studying for her bachelor’s degree.
Having a doctor in the family was her father’s great aspiration. Dr Bum did not feel pressured by this; rather, it aligned perfectly with her own profound interest in biology. Young Pintip was always an excellent student. She gained admission to the prestigious Satriwithaya School in Year 8, and later to Triam Udom Suksa School in Year 11. When it was time for university, her life’s path naturally pointed towards medicine, even though she was still unsure if she would enjoy it or excel at it. She was subsequently accepted into the Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn University.
During her third year, the faculty organised a rural public health camp. Medical students had to practise working like real doctors, using stethoscopes to diagnose villagers, providing community health education, teaching children, and even repairing playgrounds and lavatories.
“I wasn’t particularly good at the manual labour—ultimately, the local tradesmen had to help us out! But the experience made me realise how much I loved treating and caring for others. I also discovered my fondness for children; people would always remark on how genuinely happy I looked whenever I was around them.”
By her fourth year, which involved interacting with real patients, medical student Bum realised just how much she enjoyed clinical studies. Her enthusiasm for learning came naturally, contrasting sharply with her earlier theoretical years.
After graduating and completing her medical internship in Chumphon province, her passion for working with children remained strong. She was torn between obstetrics/gynaecology and paediatrics. However, her internship exposed her to complicated childbirths, and she realised she could not cope with facing such distressing situations frequently. Conversely, treating paediatric patients felt pure and innocent; when children are ill, they naturally evoke a deep sense of compassion. Consequently, Dr Bum decided to pursue a specialisation in paediatrics at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.
“During my three years of paediatric training, I saw desperately ill children—some unable to breathe on their own, constantly reliant on ventilators via tracheostomies. Some conditions left them bedridden, whilst others had incurable cancers and eventually passed away. These experiences deeply affected me, which steered me away from those specific sub-specialities. Infectious diseases, on the other hand, if without complications, are mostly curable without leaving patients with chronic conditions.”
Driven by her love for biology and the fascination of looking through a microscope at tiny organisms like bacteria and parasites, Dr Bum chose to sub-specialise in infectious diseases.
“My preference probably stemmed simply from that—it was tangible, and I found it fascinating.”
Upon completing her studies, Dr Bum continued as a medical lecturer at Chulalongkorn Hospital, teaching second and third-year medical students about microbiology and infectious diseases, with a primary focus on bacteria—her particular area of interest.
“Being a paediatrician fundamentally helps me be a better lecturer. It gives me a deep understanding of young people. I realise I cannot just lecture and expect students to grasp everything immediately. I have to understand them—why they might succeed or struggle with certain concepts.”
Since her fellowship training, Dr Bum had also been working part-time at BNH Hospital, before eventually deciding to join as a full-time physician.
“Here, doctors and nurses treat each other like family. We always support one another. I feel incredibly well looked after; it’s a comfortable environment where we can consult each other on anything and always receive guidance or help in return. I have never felt isolated at BNH. Furthermore, the hospital boasts an excellent, modern system that is constantly evolving. Every staff member is dedicated and attentive, which makes working here a true pleasure.”
The Days Before COVID-19 Had an Official Name
The infectious diseases under Dr Bum’s purview naturally included emerging pathogens like the COVID-19 virus, which began to spread just as she finished her infectious disease fellowship.
“Consequently, I was involved even before the virus officially entered Thailand. I saw some of the very first cases in the hospital and was one of the first doctors to examine patients before the disease was even named COVID-19. The patients were Chinese, as we had many tourists from China at the time. I had to perform nasal swabs to test for the virus. Typically, this is a nursing task, but everyone was terrified back then, so the infectious disease doctor had to step in. I had to wear a full protective hazmat suit. In those days, laboratory samples still had to be sent to a central facility. Being newly qualified and full of enthusiasm, I simply did whatever was asked of me,” Dr Bum recounts.
Because of this, Dr Bum was deeply involved with COVID-19 from the very beginning. As a young attending physician who was not in a vulnerable risk group, she had the opportunity to learn and execute many initiatives during the crisis—from establishing a response team for suspected cases and planning operational protocols, to creating public health guidelines and personally treating the earliest cohorts of patients. This garnered her substantial experience with the disease.
Even before the COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out, MIS-C (Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children) emerged. This severe post-COVID complication is exclusive to children and can be life-threatening. As both a paediatrician and an infectious disease specialist, Dr Bum directly managed these cases, which were quite prevalent at the time. Eventually, the pandemic’s severity gradually subsided into an endemic state, allowing general practitioners to treat COVID-19 without always needing an infectious disease consultant.
A Lover of Children
Dr Bum adores children for their brightness and genuine nature, even when they are unwell. Therefore, to gain their cooperation during treatment, she approaches them with absolute sincerity, striving to show them that she wants to be their friend.
“Some children are terrified of hospitals to begin with. The moment they see me in a white coat, they fear they are going to get a jab. If an injection is genuinely necessary that day, it has to be done. However, I always try to make them feel at ease by having their parents sit and chat with us, showing them that the environment is friendly. A simple technique is using toys. If they start playing nearby without me having to approach them first, things become much easier. For older children who can reason, we use stickers as a reward for cooperating. These are just small techniques we employ.”
Everyone has been ill at some point, and Dr Bum is no exception. On the days she was a patient herself, anxieties flooded in, despite her having a deeper medical understanding than most.
“Sometimes you know you are overly anxious and overthinking things, but you cannot find the answers yourself. You have to consult a specialist. If you find a doctor who truly listens to you—even if they cannot immediately solve the problem but merely try to understand you—you already feel so much better.”
This profound empathy shapes how Dr Bum treats her own patients; she strives to be the kind of doctor she would wish to see. Though treating paediatric cases is often complex and requires months of follow-ups, she constantly evaluates whether her care truly answers all of the patient’s needs. Sometimes, when patients feel better and miss their follow-up appointments, she makes it a point to ring them to check on their progress and offer self-care advice.
“I believe I am quite an attentive person. Most patients are very happy to have a doctor checking in on them. Sometimes, when I refer a case to a university teaching hospital, I still ring the parents to ask how their child is doing.”
The complexity of the infectious diseases under Dr Bum’s care lies in the fact that symptoms can stem from myriad causes, both infectious and non-infectious, alongside an enormous variety of pathogens. Assessing a patient requires a synthesis of paediatric knowledge, microbiology, and epidemiology. Furthermore, pathogens constantly evolve into new strains, causing emerging diseases, which necessitates doctors to continuously update their knowledge.
The role of a paediatric infectious disease specialist goes beyond rapid and accurate diagnosis; it involves preventing infections in the first place, primarily through vaccinations. It also entails controlling the disease to prevent complications and halting its spread to others. This embodies Dr Bum’s philosophy of “Complete Care“.
“One thing I would like to highlight is the common misconception that an infectious disease always requires antibiotics. That is simply not the case. The real challenge of being an infectious disease doctor is helping parents understand and accept that, for certain illnesses, simply waiting or treating the symptoms is enough for the patient to recover without ever needing antibiotics. It requires meticulous attention to detail to diagnose accurately, and the confidence to tell parents that their child’s illness does not require antimicrobial drugs.”
The qualities she embodies as a doctor today are also deeply inspired by a paediatrician from her own childhood memories—Dr Aroonsri Santithananon, whom she saw for vaccinations at a local hospital.
“I can still remember her face vividly to this day. She had an incredibly busy clinic, even though she hadn’t been practising for long at the time. She was a paediatric neurologist, and I was her regular patient—whether it was for vaccinations or minor illnesses, we always went to see her. My mother used to say, ‘Do you see this doctor? The one treating you is brilliant. If you grow up to be a doctor, I want you to be like her. You could even be a paediatrician.’ I didn’t actually want to be a paediatrician back then; I simply retained an image of what a highly skilled and profoundly caring doctor looked like.”
Over twenty years later, Dr Bum had the chance to meet her childhood idol at a medical conference hosted by the Infectious Diseases Association of Thailand. She approached her to say hello and asked if she remembered her. Naturally, the face of the child, now fully grown, had changed beyond recognition. When Dr Bum revealed that she was a former patient from many years ago, the senior doctor offered her a warm, affectionate smile.
Climbing Mountains, Entering the Woods: Healing the Mind
A decade ago, Dr Bum’s younger brother introduced her to the Khao Ngon Nak (Dragon Crest Mountain) trail in Krabi province. It was her first trail-walking experience, and she discovered that immersing herself in nature was profoundly healing on exhausting days, bringing her peace and time for self-reflection. Following this, the doctor officially entered the world of hiking.
Her next trip was to Kew Mae Pan in Chiang Mai, and later, she travelled as far as the United States. Her entire family flew over to visit her younger sister, who is a doctor there, and they spent ten consecutive days trekking through the wilderness of Washington State.
“It’s a personal challenge. There is joy in the journey, and a profound sense of achievement when you reach your intended goal. I am not someone who enjoys chatting whilst walking; I just want to reach the destination. But once you get there and witness the sheer majesty of nature, you realise just how beautiful and vast the world truly is.”
Trail walking and hiking also serve as a family bonding activity, offering a rare opportunity for them to reunite completely just once a year, as her younger sister moved abroad immediately after her undergraduate degree and has lived there ever since.
“However, I don’t like the sea at all, as I suffer terribly from seasickness,” Dr Bum adds.
“My father always wanted his children to be doctors. Whenever I go home for dinner, he asks about my daily life. When I share my experiences, the one thing he always tells me is that he wants me to be a doctor who takes excellent care of her patients and cures them. This makes me want to be exactly that kind of doctor—partly to make him proud, and partly because I am doing something genuinely useful. He also loves to point out that being a doctor is distinct from other professions; not only are you working for yourself, but you are also actively serving others.”
Dr Bum shares these words from her father, which have ultimately become her guiding principle in patient care. No matter how far infectious diseases evolve, or how far a patient’s beliefs may stray from reality, she remains committed to constantly updating her knowledge and gently correcting misconceptions, ensuring her patients receive the absolute best care possible.
ASST. PROF. PINTIP SUCHARTLIKITWONG, MD.
Paediatrics Department
Specialty
Pediatric infectious diseases
Language
Thai, English
– Diploma in Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Chulalongkorn Hospital
– Diploma in Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University
– Pediatric infectious diseases, COVID-19 in children
– Doctor of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University
Doctor’s Schedule
| Day | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 07:00 – 15:00 | Paediatrics Department |
| Tuesday | 12:00 – 19:00 | Paediatrics Department |
| Thursday | 07:00 – 19:00 | Paediatrics Department |
| Friday | 10:00 – 18:00 | Paediatrics Department |
| Sunday | 08:00 – 17:00 | Paediatrics Department |