Getting well?

By Seoh Bong-seong

A few years ago, Mrs. Kim felt some discomfort in her neck. She visited a big hospital in Jeju City, where she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. The doctor suggested, and she agreed to, surgery to remove the cancer, as well as anticancer treatment.

A few months later, she began feeling pain in her ankle whenever she went for a walk in the arboretum. She went back to the same doctor, who said she had a ligament problem. Per the doctor’s advice, she embarked on a few months of physical therapy but the pain persisted. The doctor then instructed her to have it operated on but she was uneasy with this.

She went to a specialist at the Severance Hospital in Seoul. He said her discomfort was the result of the previous cancer operation, and that it would be better for her to swim rather than walk too much. He also queried why she didn’t come to Seoul when the symptoms first arose.

She now swims daily and feels she’s getting better each day. She says she is now convinced of the need to go to Seoul if diagnosed with anything but a cold or other trivial illnesses.

A certain professor Lee whom I know had a nose operation three years ago in the same local hospital that Mrs. Kim first visited. He paid more to have the doctor of his choice perform the procedure. This doctor had showed him many pictures of people who had been cured of his condition. He assured the professor that he would be able to breathe normally after the operation.

The professor got nervous though, when he saw another patient come in to have his blood checked. The doctor couldn't even find this person’s vein in his right wrist, and left it bruised. Furthermore, for almost one hour after the operation, with his wife absent from his side, the professor couldn't breathe well, nor could he talk at all. He rang for a nurse but nobody came.

Finally when his wife came back, a nurse sneaked into the room smiling, asking what the problem was. At that point, he was reminded of the reason why he paid so much for the operation: to be well taken care of. This was what he got at the best hospital in Jeju.

This is not to say that doctors don’t have it tough. Although the medical profession may be lucrative, it is stressful, and it requires an extended period of studying and training. In addition, doctors are constantly surrounded by unhealthy or hurt people, and they themselves reportedly don’t live extremely long lives, as a rule.

How hard must it be to witness so much death and injury! I've heard that some try to escape the stress by drinking, while others find solace in religion.

It’s also true that some doctors are still impolite and authoritative. They physically and spiritually tire themselves so much every day that they have no time to read good books to nourish their minds. They and the nurses have lost the ability to see things from the patient’s perspective.

Recently two small clinics near my house closed without notice. I had previously visited one and was surprised at the bad service I received. Meanwhile, the dentists at a clinic I know of are so kind and considerate that you can’t see them without first making an appointment.

An old adage says, "Treat others as you would have them treat you.” Real authority in any aspect of life, I believe, is the result of a decent attitude and good service.

The writer is a professor of the Department of Chinese Language Culture at Jeju International University. His email address is benseoh@naver.com.