Job Discussion Forums

[Qaaolchoura]

I have a couple questions, I'm wondering if anybody might know the answers.

A. Insurance: Do American companies cover expenses in a foreign country?

B. If not, how does Turkish insurance work. In the US, of course, it's assumed your employer will cover this, and this seems to be the case in China. But I haven't seen any postings for jobs in Turkey where is is the case.

So I assume I'd have to buy it myself. How would I go about figuring out plans in Turkey? Is there a service to help with this? I'd like to learn Turkish, but I'd also like to have insurance on arrival, and there's no way I can get my Turkish up to read legalese in that timeframe.

C. How do I find out about Turkish psychiatrists? I'm on some meds for anxiety and I assume I'd probably have to buy these myself too, though I can probably afford it. But since I'd need to get my records transferred, I'd need one who speaks--or at least reads English. Is this doable?

Also, has anybody been to a Turkish psychiatrist? Ideally a medical psychiatrist rather than talk therapy. I'm concerned because I've heard from friends that many aspects of medicine in China, especially psychiatry are quite strange by Western standards. I'd assume that Turkish psychiatry is fairly Western, since Turkey strives to be a European country. On the other hand, I don't really know.

[keitepai]

Hello there,

My school provides medical insurance with a translation, however it has a lot of exclusions one being psycological illnesses. I think this is because our package is the cheapest option. I am sure you could get insurance yourself but maybe you should look for a job that includes it?

I teach a number of children whose parents are psycologists/psychiatrists and they speak perfect English and seem very normal!

Overall the medical profession here is very western with a love of 'prescribing' for any minor ailment. My experience is that the doctors here see a foreigner coming armed with medical insurance and away they go with every test under the sun.

You can also buy all sorts of medicines such as antibiotics/inhalers without a prescription however I am not sure if you could get your medication this way.

Please PM me if you want the name of the medical insurance company.

Take care