Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mercury]

The first time I met a nurse in Korea, I had to get a physical. She took my blood pressure, tried to take out some blood, and what surprised me most was the fact that she really did not seem like she knew what she was doing. After a few giggles, she finally called an older woman who was able to get the job done. I heard from some of my students that to become a nurse, a girl usually takes night classes, and it sounded like a sort of 'nurses aid' in the states. Two years of night classes and they can wear the uniform, the hat, and they look like nurses, but I really wonder what lies behind the 'construct'. I had a good friend who was a nurse in the states, he was always telling me how tough it was, he also told me he was part of some kind of international nurses organization with only a small group of countries (Canada, England, New Zealand , Austrailia and I believe South Africa) that were allowed to participate. After seeing how many of my students study English (ten minutes of work, twenty minutes of checking the cell phone, ten minutes of looking in the mirror, ten minute private conversation with friend) I am a bit worried about having a 'nurse' help me.

[dulouz]

I found out why healthcare costs are low here. They don't do much checking. The exams are not up to par with the West. I had to remind two docs I had a raging ear infection. After they looked, it was "oh yea".
Several things went missing that would get called on back home.

[thorin]

It ain't like it's rocket science. IM = stick the needle in a muscle. IV = stick the needle in a vein. Bood pressure = listen and count. I've never had any trouble with the nurses here, besides the giggling.

[mercury]

[Freezer Burn]

Im in good health (knock on wood) and usually don't require the services of doctors or nurse's and granted there isnt too much involve in taking blood, but they are dealing with your body and some confidence and ability would be a requisite for myself.
I was teaching in China, and the medical physical exam is compulsory, so off to the local hospital I go, there were paitients smoking in the waiting room, Nurse's oblivious to any problems, and when they took my blood I had to insist on having a fresh needle opened in front of me, not a needle already sitting on the counter, then she jabbed me like it was a dart going into a dart board.
So while its not brain surgery, there should be a higher level in Asia.

[Koreabound2004]

[agraham]

It's amazing that they think going to the hospital is worth something for these minor ailments. Like if you didn't go to the hospital your cold or sprained ankle would never go away.
Or that you need a pharmacist's assistance to buy some pepto-bismol or aspirin.
Theoretically as long as we eat enough kimchi we should never have a cold in the first place.

[Konundrum]

My first year in Korea, I had a chest cold...not a really bad one, but bad enough to go get some meds. Well, I sat down next to the doc, told him my symptoms while he plugged them into a computer. Then he listened to my heart (not my lungs) and told me I had asthma. Shocked, I told him how I've never had breathing problems before and been active and an athlete all my life. Now he asked me in a demeaning tone "You didn't know you had asthma??!?" He wrote me a repeat prescription for one of those inhalers/puffer things, gave me a shot in the bum and sent me home. Well, a week later,I was fit as a fiddle...I never used the puffer once and gave it to my asthmatic co-teacher.

[sadsac]

Their health care costs are low because if you have a hospital stay, it's your family that gives you the care, not the medical staff. Diabetic, thats me. Saturday go and see the doc to get some new meds, bum doesn't even hit the seat and he tells me were're done. My wife is amazed, 30 seconds max for my visit, no level test, nought. That's health care for you.

[ajuma]

I guess it depends on the nurse, but the nursing students at my uni have quite a difficult courseload. In addition to the regular "core" courses they must take, they also take anatomy, biology and ethics-type courses for 2 years. For the next two years, they STILL take classes while learning the practical side of nursing, becoming more and more independant. Sounds like you got a "technician" rather than a nurse!

[sid]

I simply cannot resist this opportunity for a Derrek moment:

My Korean girlfriend, who is a Korean nurse in Korea, qualified with a three-year diploma. The other nurses she works with all have one of those or a four-year degree. Diploma students do extra training in the vacations to get the same amount and range of experience as a degree student.

But... there are some nurses called ��ȣ������ that qualify in one year at a nursing hagwon type institution. They can work at the big proper hospitals but just supporting the real nurses or doing simple outpatient stuff. Somebody, could have been my girlfriend (who is Korean), told me that the one-year nurses are not supposed to stick needles into people, but I'm sure at smaller places those kind of rules are not strictly adhered to.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Usually, when Koreans say 'hospital' they mean 'doctors office' or 'clinic'. For some reason, they don't distinguish between them.

I do have a favorite nurse story.

A couple of years ago I loaned my car to a neighbor. In the middle of the night, around 2am I woke up with a nasty pain in my side. Hmmm...this feels like a kidney stone attack. I went down and woke up my neighbor and asked to borrow back my car so I could go to the hospital. Being a good neighbor, he and his wife (Korean) both drove me to the hospital.

There were a dozen beds in a kind of reception room. Three or four beds were filled with people moaning. One of the three nurses led me over to my bed and gave me a shot for the pain. Having had this kind of shot before, I expected the pain to go away in about 10 minutes. At the end of 30 minutes I told my neighbor's wife the pain wasn't going away. She went over to the nursing station and told them.

She came back with a really startled look on her face. She said the shot I'd received was not for pain. It was just glucose (or something). There were no doctors on duty so no one could give me a shot for the pain. A doctor wouldn't be coming for another three hours.

We packed up and went to a different hospital. Got great care. No complaints from the second place. Very good doctors and nurses.

[taobenli]

I have learned that when in Asia if you are sick and go to a hospital/clinic and don't like the look of it or the care you receive, just pack up and go to the next one in the phone book. When I was living in Japan I got really sick, had a horrible rash and high, high fever, and when I went to clinics in my town I got told by two different paternalistic doctors that I had a cold. When I disagreed, they told me to leave! They just didn't want to have to deal with the foreigner. I kept wondering to these "doctors" if my recent trip to tropical China and strange bite on my foot might have anything to do with it, but was brushed off. Luckily the next hospital I went to had a wonderful female doctor on staff who immediately recognized there was a problem and diagnosed it- turned out I had typhus.

You have to search for a doctor you like...if I had accepted the other doctors' advice, I might not be here!

[jajdude]

But all foreigners have AIDS, nurses and doctors agree.

[periwinkle]

[quote="taobenli"Luckily the next hospital I went to had a wonderful female doctor on staff who immediately recognized there was a problem and diagnosed it- turned out I had typhus.

You have to search for a doctor you like...if I had accepted the other doctors' advice, I might not be here![/quote]

Unbelievable. I wonder if you can make complaints to the medical board. Seems like some of these people didn't take the Hippocratic Oath. In it for the money, I guess. What a shame.