| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Lorilou
Joined: 01 Sep 2009
Location: Osan
|
 Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 3:55 pm Post subject: Are all Korean doctors like this? |
 |
|
I've been sick since I arrived 2 weeks ago with what I think might be Avian flu. My school finally took me to the clinic yesterday. I was sitting in the small waiting room/exam room, and there were two girls that were sitting in the two exam chairs, with a table of exam instruments in between the chairs. He used them on one patient (checked inside her nose, ears and throat) and then I thought he turned around and used the same instruments on the other girl. I was also talking to my co-teacher and not paying the closest attention, so I thought I must have been mistaken. But then after he was done examining me in the same manner, I watched him turn around and examine a new patient in the other chair without disinfecting anything!
I don't want to bring this up to my co-teacher, as this doctor is a church friend of hers. But now I'm petrified I'm going to get even more sick on top of it. Is this normal in Korea???? |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:01 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Yes, every single Korean doctor in Korea is like this. All of them. From the big hospitals to the small clinics.
 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:06 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| As long as a significant number of Korean doctors believe in fan death, I will have difficulty trusting Korean doctors. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Lorilou
Joined: 01 Sep 2009
Location: Osan
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Wait... fan death??? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Lorilou
Joined: 01 Sep 2009
Location: Osan
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| pkang0202 wrote: |
Yes, every single Korean doctor in Korea is like this. All of them. From the big hospitals to the small clinics.
|
I'm guessing this is sarcasm  I know I shouldn't assume that every single doctor is like this. The school I'm at now isn't the most sanitary by US standards-- no soap in the bathrooms, every kids shares the same two cups teathered to the water cooler, kids and teachers working with swine flu, etc... So I'm not really sure what all to expect at a clinic.
I'm just wondering if this is common practice, or if I should demand that they take me to a different clinic next time around. And btw, they took me here because they claim they can't afford to pay for my health insurance, and this doctor is a friend of the co-teacher's and seeing me for free (I have insurance that I purchased before arrival, but have to go to a hospital clinic to be covered). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
nomad-ish
Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Location: On the bottom of the food chain
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| no, they're not all like this. i suggest next time you are sick you go to a hospital with or without an international clinic. either way, a hospital should be a lot better than a dodgy clinic where the doctor examines patients in front of patients. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
seoulsucker
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Location: The Land of the Hesitant Cutoff
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:37 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| My girlfriend's GP told her not to eat wheat because it would lower her body temperature. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dirving
Joined: 19 Nov 2009
Location: South Korea
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:42 pm Post subject: Re: Are all Korean doctors like this? |
|
|
| Lorilou wrote: |
I've been sick since I arrived 2 weeks ago with what I think might be Avian flu. My school finally took me to the clinic yesterday. I was sitting in the small waiting room/exam room, and there were two girls that were sitting in the two exam chairs, with a table of exam instruments in between the chairs. He used them on one patient (checked inside her nose, ears and throat) and then I thought he turned around and used the same instruments on the other girl. I was also talking to my co-teacher and not paying the closest attention, so I thought I must have been mistaken. But then after he was done examining me in the same manner, I watched him turn around and examine a new patient in the other chair without disinfecting anything!
I don't want to bring this up to my co-teacher, as this doctor is a church friend of hers. But now I'm petrified I'm going to get even more sick on top of it. Is this normal in Korea???? |
This happened at a work shop a couple of weeks ago in Chungcheongnam-do where the same ear thermometer was used on over 25 people. I've been sick ever since that day. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Samurai Blur
Joined: 20 Aug 2009
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:42 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Lorilou wrote: |
| Wait... fan death??? |
Yes. Quite possibly in the top five dumbest urban myths I've ever heard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Lorilou
Joined: 01 Sep 2009
Location: Osan
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 4:54 pm Post subject: Re: Are all Korean doctors like this? |
|
|
| dirving wrote: |
This happened at a work shop a couple of weeks ago in Chungcheongnam-do where the same ear thermometer was used on over 25 people. I've been sick ever since that day. |
Yes, they use the same ear thermometer to check the kids temps here at the school every morning (of course, I didn't find this out until after the school nurse used it to check my temp one morning). After years of this, these kids must have superhuman immunities. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
fermentation
Joined: 22 Jun 2009
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:10 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I'd say the level of medical care here is a touch below the west. I don't trust doctors except for the ones in the really big hospitals or international clinics. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
storysinger81
Joined: 25 Mar 2007
Location: Daegu
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:28 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Lorilou,
Go to a hospital, not a clinic--one associated with a reputable university or an international clinic is best. Insist that the doctor open new, sterilized instruments in front of you (they will). Smile a lot as you're making these demands.
It is utterly ridiculous to assume that every Korean doctor will use poor hygenic practices because one did. That is how racism begins. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dirving
Joined: 19 Nov 2009
Location: South Korea
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:37 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| storysinger81 wrote: |
Lorilou,
Go to a hospital, not a clinic--one associated with a reputable university or an international clinic is best. Insist that the doctor open new, sterilized instruments in front of you (they will). Smile a lot as you're making these demands.
It is utterly ridiculous to assume that every Korean doctor will use poor hygenic practices because one did. That is how racism begins. |
My health exam on November 18th at Gongju National University Hospital involved peeing into a cup in a filthy restroom that'd make any of the toilets on Hooker Hill proud. I then had to give the urine to a Doctor who wasn't wearing rubber gloves. The cups were left uncovered on a metal stand next to blood samples.
Next, I had a dental exam in the grossest-looking clinic imaginable where the tools were not sterilised. I asked for sterile ones, but to no avail and was told to "hurry, hurry" by the District Office Co-Ordinator. She was pissed at my observations that the hospital was likely worse than any in Somalia or Sudan because she's a graduate of Gongju National University. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ulsanchris
Joined: 19 Jun 2003
Location: take a wild guess
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 7:00 pm Post subject: |
|
|
While it isn't the cleanest thing to do you won't get sick from sharing an ear thermometer. Unless you start sucking on it.
If your school isn't giving you health insurance, you should be thinking twice or three times about working there.
If your school has a lot of students there should be no reason for them not to give you insurance. There is a good chance your boss is BSing you. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
whome?
Joined: 13 Nov 2009
|
| Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 7:11 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| storysinger81 wrote: |
Lorilou,
Go to a hospital, not a clinic--one associated with a reputable university or an international clinic is best. Insist that the doctor open new, sterilized instruments in front of you (they will). Smile a lot as you're making these demands.
It is utterly ridiculous to assume that every Korean doctor will use poor hygenic practices because one did. That is how racism begins. |
Dude.... you're overstepping. She asked a question. She is new to what is likely a completely foreign country. She probably comes from a country where something like this would NEVER HAPPEN. So seeing it one time naturally and rightly makes her wonder how wide spread it is here.
Nothing to do with starting racism. What's ridiculous is thinking this has anything to do with racism. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
