By Lee Min-hwan
I am writing to talk about the excellence of Korea's psychiatrists and their nurses. In my opinion, the quality of medical treatment afforded by these professionals is extremely high and probably better than the psychiatric treatment offered in other countries.
First of all, their levels of knowledge and know-how of psychiatry are very high. As a matter of course, they are very intelligent and it is my surmise that they have studied psychiatry enthusiastically. Not only that, they work extremely hard.
Secondly, their success in providing medical treatment to people who need clinical treatment has been superb. As far as I know, people who need psychiatric treatment have been receiving effective therapy with a lot of care on the part of Korean psychiatrists and nurses.
It has been said from a long time ago that people who receive psychiatric treatment are much more mentally healthy and sound than people who do not seek psychiatric treatment, which might sound ironical. Therefore, Korean people should know that it is not an embarrassing thing at all to ask for psychiatric treatment and, rather, if one feels one is suffering psychological problems, one should go to a psychiatrist without further ado and without feeling embarrassed.
It is a great problem, indeed, that Korean society looks askance at people receiving mental treatment. A long time ago, depression was considered something very serious. But, nowadays, this is far less the case. Yet these days, people suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are considered by the Korean society, at large, as having significant issues. I am sure however, that as time passes, modern medicine will very quickly make advancements with regard to psychiatric treatment and the mental disorders of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder will be considered slight and minor disorders that are not at all embarrassing or serious.
Thirdly, Korean psychiatrists and their nurses are so splendid that they cure mental illnesses very quickly, probably quicker than psychiatrists and nurses overseas. I am aware of the fact that Korean psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses are extremely good at applications of modern psychiatric theories, knowledge, and know-how. Although they are perhaps a little behind their researcher counterparts in the United States, especially because they are very busy with their psychiatric practice, they are very capable in their application of theory and knowledge.
The number of the people who commit suicide because of mental problems and other reasons seems to be rather high here in Korea. However, as Korean psychiatrists and nurses are more than capable in treating patients with minor and major mental disorders, I really feel that people should never commit suicide and, instead, should visit a hospital with a department of psychiatry or neuropsychiatry or a psychiatric clinic. I have heard that quite a few entrepreneurs and entertainers have committed suicide, but feel that their precious lives could have been saved quite easily if they went to a psychiatrist. In addition, again to the best of my knowledge, curing mental illnesses seems to be simpler and easier than people think: All that people suffering from psychological problems have to do are to visit a psychiatrist, get counseling from the psychiatrist, meticulously follow the instructions of the psychiatrist, and, when necessary and prescribed by the doctor, take the medicine. This is especially so because Korean psychiatrists are extremely accurate with their diagnoses and pharmaceutical treatment.
Fourthly, I am aware of the fact that Korean psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses really care about their patients. I have never seen a psychiatrist who is not deeply committed to curing his or her patients. Although Korean psychiatrists are extremely busy, they do their best to provide excellent counseling and therapy, in particular. Especially, it seems that with the Korean economy currently being in a prolonged recession and with Korean society being somewhat unstable these days, psychiatrists and nurses working in psychiatry are tremendously busy. Nevertheless, it is apparent that they have been doing their utmost to provide excellent medical care.
Fifthly and lastly, the coordination and cooperation between Korean psychiatrists and nurses in psychiatric departments of hospitals or psychiatric clinics is really superb. Their extremely good collaboration really contributes to the quick medical treatment of their patients.
In conclusion, Korean psychiatrists and nurses working in psychiatry deserve a lot of admiration and respect, especially because they work hard, do their utmost to cure their patients, and engage in highly intellectual psychiatric research.
The writer is president of a translation firm, ``Maum Communications." He can be reached at matt7@dreamwiz.com.