Malwal Sabino, center, a South Sudanese doctor, poses with his colleagues at Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital in Ilsan, northwest of Seoul. Sabino is on a Lee Jongwook Fellowship Program, which provides opportunities for doctors in developing countries to come to Korea to receive advanced training. / Korea Times file

By Yun Suh-young

Malwal Sabino is a 31-year-old doctor who worked as a general practitioner in his country, South Sudan, before he came to Korea to learn more about emergency medical treatment.

He arrived in June on a Lee Jong-wook Fellowship Program, which provides opportunities for doctors in developing countries to come to Korea to receive advanced training.

The late Lee Jong-wook was a South Korean doctor who served as the head of the World Health Organization from 2003 until he passed away in 2006.

“I was nominated by the government to participate in this program. Honestly, before I came, I didn’t know much about Mr. Lee,” said Sabino during a telephone interview with The Korea Times, Thursday.

But Korea wasn’t too new to Sabino as he had heard about the late Father John Lee (Father Lee Tae-suk) before he came here.

“Father John Lee ― that’s what we called him ― was the only Korean I knew before coming here. He was an example of someone who sacrificed himself to help people. He went to very distant areas in South Sudan and that’s not easy,” said Sabino.

When asked whether he saw Father Lee as an example, he said, “Yes, in terms of helping other people, but I don’t want to be a priest.”

This is the first time a South Sudanese man is participating in the Lee Jong-wook program. Sabino is currently working at the Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital.

What Sabino wants to learn in Korea is emergency medicine. The concept is very new in his country and the system there is poor, which is why he wants to take back what he learns here and apply it.

“I want to learn about the organization of the medical emergency system itself. The free hospital care for the patients and the treatment of patients is quite advanced. I was surprised all of this could be applied in such short period of time,” said Sabino.

“I’m impressed by the technology inside the hospital, the intensive care unit, and the way of communication between colleagues. Communication is well organized here. It’s rare to find this in my country.”

The system is quite different there he said.

“There’s no emergency room. Patients find difficulty receiving treatment and many things are lacking in hospitals. There are no intensive care units,” said Sabino.

“There are three large hospitals in my country. I’m not sure about the number of small hospitals. On the most recent data, I saw that the number of doctors is just 500.”

When he goes back to his country in December, he plans to share his ideas with peers, colleagues and with government officials.

“I want to discuss with officials who make health policy on adopting the emergency medical system like in Korea. My professor always says it’s a customized service. I want to build a customize type of emergency medical service, tailored to acute patients. We need to train more doctors. We need more dedicated staff in the hospital who can stay 24 hours. We need to extend medical service outside hospital. This is what I want to tell people when I go back,” he said.