Korean Job Discussion Forums

[khyber]

the beav...
interesting..but i have heard of MANY people and many peoples mothers (not a joke actually), had to wait for VERY urgent surgeries, including, NUMEROUS biopsys (what' the "removing of tissue one" called?)

Also, how much is SPENT on healthcare MAY be indicative as to the general health of the population and NOT how valued it is.

Service is pretty much the same? That would be a shock to a few people i've talked to.

Thanks for the info though...good to hear

[Gwangjuboy]

It is rather naive to suggest that one method is better than the other. Both Western, and Oriental medicinal methods have their merits. In the UK, doctors representing both disciplines have urged the two to work in tandem with each other. Oriental medicine is particuarly good at reducing your chances of becoming unhealthy. In contrast, Western medicine tends to focus on cure rather than prevention. My only gripe with Oriental medicine in the West, is that it tends to be an unlicensed money making machine. In the UK, legislation is addressing this issue, but Asians must understand that as a result of this perception Westerners are bound to lean toward cynicism. Is the practice of Oriental medicine governed better here than it is in the UK? God help us if it is as corrupt as the hagwon industry!

[the_beaver]

[Yaya]

[peppermint]

[some waygug-in]

It is not western medicine so much as pharmaceutical companies who have mislead western medicine that are the biggest problems with health care in Western countries.

http://www.cancer-coverup.com/

http://www.virusmyth.net/aids/controversy.htm

http://www.fluoridation.com/

There are so many misleading and blatantly false "scientific" studies done every year, all with the agenda of promoting and or selling some new pharmaceutical product. It's a wonder people don't just stop taking "drugs" altogether.

As for Eastern medicine, some of it has been validly proven effective for years, accupunture, for example. Some of it is untested and as of yet unproven. This is still better, in my view, than the fraudulant "evidence" that the pharmaceutical industry uses to promote their products.

I was going to post a link to fraudulent scientific research cases, but for some reason it won't open. Go figure.

Cheers

[Beeg]

"The Arrogance of Western Medicine"

All the time I here about the arrogance of western medicine, usually from the same people that go on pro-Tibet rallies and spend half their lifes attempting to understand the deeper meanings of Radiohead lyrics.

The truth is that for all its short-commings and there are many, Western Medicine provides cures by using empirically tested scientific methods. Such scientific knowledge has gone a long way to help cure many diseases and prevent millions of deaths. For example people no longer die of smallpox and cancer survival rates are constantly improving.

Additionally I would like to point out that because western medicine has a scientific basis it incorporates all proven fact, whether its origin be in Asia of Europe and dismisses that which cannot be proved i.e. many so-called alternative medicines.

[some waygug-in]

[On the other hand]

[Manner of Speaking]

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

If I have anything serious I go straight for western every time. Don't like giving my hard earned cash to shamen.

[the_beaver]

[Ilsanman]

it's arrogant to think a food can prevent a life threatening disease. It has been proven (I think) that garlic boosts ones immune system, but gimme a break!!

I agree that both sides of the globe overmedicate. It's because doctors earn more money that way.

I refuse to take responsibility of getting sick when a brat sneezes in my face.

[some waygug-in]

[Drakoi]

hey, being a scientist I'm all for the scientific method. It's the assumptions that western medicine uses that alarm me. Especially the assumption that western medicine is the only way and has all the answers.

You can sense that arrogance in many of the posts here. It's a 'We're right' and "you're wrong!" mentality when the truth is that nobody knows for sure. We've got bodies of evidence on both sides and mysteries galore.

This is how the scientific method is supposed to work. Make observations, make a guess, do an experiment, and then check your results against your guess.

But when it comes to medicine you get to the last step and doctors throw up their hands and say 'ooooohh it's too confusing, it looks like we were right! let's go sell some drugs!"

I've talked to many (okay, like three) american doctors on a personal level and they rail against the pharmecutical companies, the HMO's, and the idiocy found in most medical 'studies'. A high level of correspondance can never show cause and effect.

Talking to them, you get the impression that after having been in the field for some years they begin to realize that much of what they were taught was based on dubious assumptions and that the whole paradigm western medical treatment is fraught with misconceptions.

Like I said, I'm not an iconoclast, I don't suggest we toss out everything that works in search of the new wave. But I advocate a clearing of our collective vision so that we can see what it is that honestly is doing the work, why it works, etc., and examine more closely the grey areas.