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SamJ85
Joined: 13 Oct 2008
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 Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 7:53 pm Post subject: English Speaking Doctor in Suwon |
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I'm had a strange feeling in my upper back for a month or two now. Despite going to an orthpedic hospital near my school and having 3 weeks physio it's still not right.
I really need to get it sorted because it's driving me crazy not being able to work out and it can be pretty uncomfortable. An English speaking chiropractor or oprthopedic specialist would be great. Failing that, just an English speaking GP who can explain the problem would be fine.
I'm in Kwongsong-dong but as long as it's in Suwon I'll be able to get there.
Can anyone out there help me out? |
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Otherside
Joined: 06 Sep 2007
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| Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 8:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Go to Ajou University Hospital. They have an International Department, and they treat a lot of the US Military stationed in Suwon. Generally had good experiences there... |
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bulldog
Joined: 12 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 12:53 am Post subject: Ajou University Hospital. |
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| I also recommend Ajou, they have plenty of doctors that speak English. If you call this number: 031 219 4312 thats the international department, they will arrange the appointments etc with you. Make sure you take your insurance document and id the first time as they will make you a patient id card. |
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blade
Joined: 30 Jun 2007
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| Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 2:57 am Post subject: |
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| Ajou sucks, if anyone feels that must to go to a Hospital in Suwon then let me recommend St. Vincents Catholic hospital. |
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Otherside
Joined: 06 Sep 2007
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| Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 5:53 am Post subject: |
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| blade wrote: |
| Ajou sucks, if anyone feels that must to go to a Hospital in Suwon then let me recommend St. Vincents Catholic hospital. |
Care to elaborate.
I've been to both.
Major difference: Ajou has the International Health Department (as I mentioned above). You go in, speak to the lady (who speaks fluent English), she takes down your details, briefly asks you what symptons you have and makes an appointment with the right doctor. Then a "nurse" takes you to pay your bill (jumping the queue), and takes you to your doctor. After the appointment, if you need any tests, X-rays etc, the nurse will take you the relevant departments and make the appointments. All in all, saves ALOT OF HASSLE. Additionally, a big hospital like Ajou has multiple specialists in each field, the person in charge of the International Health centre endeavours to make your appointments with the ones with the best English, where possible.
Overall the medical care seemed decent.
Let's go to St Vincents. Go into the front and try to make an appointment, each person points me to a different queue, wait, next queue. Finally, i go BACK to the helpdesk and ask if anyone speaks English. Ten minutes later some security guard comes and I have to explain my symptons to him, felt like I was teaching my bad Elementary class, lots of pointing etc. Get shown where to go and wait. Speak to the Doctor, and now have to find where to take my blood tests, takes forever to find it. Process is repeated multiple times. Spent 2.5hours at St Vincents, 5minutes with the Doctor.
Overall, Ajou is a much better experience. |
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blade
Joined: 30 Jun 2007
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 4:06 am Post subject: |
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| Otherside wrote: |
| blade wrote: |
| Ajou sucks, if anyone feels that must to go to a Hospital in Suwon then let me recommend St. Vincents Catholic hospital. |
Care to elaborate.
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The following are some of things that happened to both my girlfriend and friend of mine.
(1). My girlfriend�s IV was left by the nurse with large air bubbles.
(2). Prescribed medication that person was allergic to despite the fact that the person in question had told the doctor before hand and this information was written on their chart (this happened at least three different times).
(3). My girlfriend was made to wait past her appointment time to see the doctor. She found out later that the doctors at Ajou think foreigners ask too many questions and don't want to delayed, so they sometimes make foreigners wait until they are ahead of schedule.
(4). When my girlfriend was a patient at Ajou , she was given food that she was highly allergic to for every meal despite repeatedly telling her doctors and nurses about her allergies.
(5). Have you seen the floors in Ajou ER? Filthy beyond belief.
(6). Doctors and nurses in Ajou ER don't seem to believe in cleaning their hands between handling patients or before or after using the same dirt covered computer keyboard that every doctor in the ER seemed to use.
(7). A friend of mine who went to Ajou ER because he had suffered a mild epileptic seizure was sent home despite it being hospital policy to admit anybody with undiagnosed seizures into hospital for 48 hours. Later that day my friend later had a second more intense seizure which required him to be hospitalized once again. Luckily for him he was okay and there happened to be people around when he had his second seizure.
( Another friend went to Ajou seeking treatment for a condition she was diagnosed with in the US and the specialists at Ajou wouldn't believe her and put on her medication was totally useless. The Ajou doctor refused to run a test and told her that the doctor in the US had given her a misdiagnosis.
(9) My girlfriends lower abdomen was X-rayed at Ajou without any of doctors or nurses bothering to check and see if she pregnant or not.
I could go on and on but I hope what I've written here is enough to explain why I wouldn't advise anybody to go to Ajou for any type of treatment. |
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Silk
Joined: 09 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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but Blade, you didn't say if St. Vincents was any better, from what many posters post these days, all hospitals are shady places, no reason to make it even more shady by going somewhere that lacks an English speaking facility and risking miscommunication
I've been to Ajou a number of times and every time they were super, anecdotal evidence doesn't outweigh the benefits of the English speaking support at Ajou.
Unless the OP has a Korean friend who can come and babysit him at St. Vincents, Ajou is really the best recommondation. |
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blade
Joined: 30 Jun 2007
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 4:19 pm Post subject: |
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Here is another thing that happened during a visit to a doctor in Ajou:
American patient: Doctor I think that I might be allergic to those pills you gave me.
Kdoctor: Why so:
American patient: Well in the past I had a reaction to a similar type of medicine.
Kdoctor: Take them anyway and see what happens.
American patient: But doctor I was told by my doctor in the US that I might go into anaphylactic shock if I ever take that type of medication again.
Kdoctor: Just take the pills and see what happens.
Kdoctor: See you next time. |
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blade
Joined: 30 Jun 2007
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 4:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Silk wrote: |
but Blade, you didn't say if St. Vincents was any better, from what many posters post these days, all hospitals are shady places, no reason to make it even more shady by going somewhere that lacks an English speaking facility and risking miscommunication
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I've found the doctors at St.Vincents to competent enough at English and at their jobs. The floors in St. Vincents were spotless when I went there and somebody saw me within about 15 minutes, there was also somebody to take to the x-ray department and the nurses where able to to insert an iv without any trouble.
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I've been to Ajou a number of times and every time they were super, anecdotal evidence doesn't outweigh the benefits of the English speaking support at Ajou. |
Well if you think Ajou is good hospital then by all means continue to go there, I personally wouldn't send an animal to that place but thats just me and my fear of dying. |
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bulldog
Joined: 12 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 11:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Each to their own mate, I've got nothing but good things to say about the place. |
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blade
Joined: 30 Jun 2007
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| Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 11:35 pm Post subject: |
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Along with the food my girlfriend was given for her meals she also got can of soda. What sort of hospital gives people cans of soda for breakfast?
Another girl I know of while staying at Ajou needed to have a catheter inserted because she couldn't move from her bed and it took no less than six different nurses to put one in. |
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drkalbi
Joined: 06 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 1:00 am Post subject: |
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| I was at the Ajou Emergency room about a year ago for a kidney stone. The only problem I had was about 10 different interns asked me the same questions. Other than that, no problems. |
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