[Maeil News] Feb 1, 2010
Yeungnam University Medical School sent its students to the South Florida University Hospital in Tampa, Florida of the US for two weeks from the 4th to 16th to study overseas clinical practices. This is the third overseas education program that started in 2008. Medical school students received clinical training in the division of infectious diseases, division of pulmonology, neurosurgery, and radiology at a university hospital in the US. This hospital is the third largest in Florida and the 9th largest in the US. Its medical sector is especially famous and is said to be the best among US universities for research and treatment on cancer and dementia. Students who returned from their program at the US university hospital talked about the level of medical school in the US.
◆Treatment took at least 30 minutes
▲Yeungnam University Medical School students who completed their training at university hospitals in the US stated that there was basically no difference in the level of medical care between Daegu university hospitals and that of the US.
Kim, Dong-han (23, junior, Yeungnam University College of Medicine) always wanted to experience university hospitals in the US and so he applied to the education program. Unlike Korea, the US has patients with various diseases. There were an especially high number of patients with AIDS and persons with gunshot wounds, which are not easy to come by in Korea. There were also many patients with high obesity weighing 200 to 300 kilograms. Kim stated, "It was interesting to see patients and diseases that I only saw in books."
Kim was surprised to see that 1 doctor would see 1 patient for at least 30 minutes. 1 doctor would only tend to about 20 patients per day. It is something that only Korean doctors, who tend to 40 patients in the morning alone, would highly desire. Kim stated, "medical textbooks say that a reason for failure of treatment is because patients do not follow the instructions of doctors," and added "it seems that the success rate for treatment is higher because of the intimate relationship between patients and doctors in the US."
Just as he heard, medical expenses in the US was expensive. It cost 1,500 dollars for MRIs in the US. It is double or triple the amount of Korea. "In a movie that critized the US medical policies, I saw a patient who lost his finger unable to receive surgery because of the high medical expenses. However, they do provide essential treatments regardless of the medical expenses even for people in poverty."
Baek, Jong-yoon (24, junior, Yeungnam University College of Medicine) said that he was impressed to see that hospital rooms in the US was mostly made for 1 to 2 people. This is because many people share one room in Korea. There are partitions even for intensive-care rooms in the US. The fact that surgery departments were not popular while dermatology and plastic surgery was popular just like Korea also caught his attention. Baek stated, "Just like Korea, applicants rushed towards certain departments in the US, but unlike Korea which has 4 year residency terms uniformly, the US had different terms for residencies depending on the department."
Na, Ho-dong (23, junior, Yeungnam University College of Medicine) wanted to see for himself the US hospitals that he only saw in TV and movies. Na experienced surgery and outpatients at five departments including the surgery department, division of infectious diseases, and division of pulmonology. He was especially amazed at patients with gunshot wounds. However, while experiencing the medical system of the US, he felt that Korea's medical standards were very high. Na stated, "I thought medicine in the US would be outstanding compared to the rest of the world, but after experiencing it for myself, it seems similar with that of the university hospitals of Daegu."
◆Medical standards similar with Korea
Lee, Dong-gyu (25, Yeungnam University Hospital intern) went for training at a US university hospital three years ago. Lee was impressed with American doctors treating patients like their friends. Lee stated, "The relationship between doctors and patients who made small talk aside from medical issues seemed very comfortable." Lee was also envious of the emergency room system of the US. Like Korea, US emergency rooms gave highest priority to myocardial infarction and strokes. However, the US provided concentrated treatment for patients with myocardial infarction or strokes in a separate room. Lee stated, "The emergency patient treatment system is more advanced than that of Korea."
However, he did not feel that the medical standards of Korea fell behind the US. Lee is confident that at least for radiology, Korea is more advanced than the US. Lee stated, "Korea subdivides radiology in different divisions such as nuclear medicine, but the US does not," and also added "Because MRI and CT is expensive in the US, people do not get them, and thus, their ability to make diagnosis falls behind Korea."
He also stated that the level for surgery was similar in the two countries. "It hurts to see that patients living in local areas prefer hospitals in Seoul and abroad. After experiencing the medical standards of the US, there was no difference in the skill level. That is why I decided to stay in Daegu for my internship rather than going to Seoul."
