The Korean Hospital Experience

Well, I guess this counts as a culture experience, right?
The anthropology of upper respiratory infections! YAY!

It's funny being the only foreigner in the hospital, especially one with an appointment. The entire staff pretty much knew who I was. They took one look at me and would say "oh! You're Hannah!" (except they say my name more like "hey-na")
So here's how the hospital waiting room is set up:
First, you check in.
Then you sit down.
Then you wait.
Then you wait.
Then you keep waiting.
Then they call your name.
After they call your name, they point you to a waiting room, which has between two and three chairs set up outside it. You sit in the chair farthest from the door, and as the two people before you move through the room, you have to move chairs, or you get yelled at.
When you finally reach the door you duck behind a curtain and viola! There is your doctor and you get to talk to them.

My doctor spoke decent English, but a lot of her English medical knowledge was jargon. So when she asked me if I'd had any major surgeries, and I said I had my gallbladder removed, she was like "oh, a supertechnicaltermectomy?" Yeah...
She listened to my lungs, asked me a couple questions, and then prescribed me five pills. Initially she prescribed me tylenol, but I quickly explained I was allergic. Actually, and I didn't think of this at the time, but she didn't seem surprised by the allergy. She simply asked "vomiting or skin rash?" From there she showed me the English information about all the pills she was planning to subscribe me and let me ok the ingredients list, which honestly gives me an amazing peace of mind because I was so afraid of not knowing what was in the medication I was taking.

Then I was whisked away to bloodwork and the xray room and sent on my way. I was told I could come back at 2 for my test results, so I jaunted around downtown until two, when I hoped another bus back to Chonam.

Then I waited.
Then I was called to the chair.
Then I worked through the chair line.
Then I entered the room and was told I had to wait for my doctor to come back.

Fortunately she showed up shortly after and lead me through the labyrinth of a hosptial to get me my updated prescriptions and show me my chest xrays. The xrays were clear, but the inflammatory agents in my blood were elevated to three times the normal level. Not 100% sure what the means, but I'm guessing it's a viral upper respiratory infection. Whatever it is I need the antibiotics to fix it.

So that's part one!
Then I went to the pharmacy!!
The pharmacy involved three steps.
Step 1: Hand over your prescription, then sit down.
Step 2: Get up, pay your bill ($5!), get a number, and then sit down again.
Step 3: Disregard your number, listen for your name, receive your pills and your instructions, and then peace out!


And that's my hospital saga. Before I close out this post I will close with two fun facts:
Fact 1: The pharmacy I went to was the "NEW YORK PHARMACY" and it's emblem was the statue of liberty.
Fact 2: EVERYTHING in Korea is done on a number system, like a deli. The post office, bank, hospital, and pharmacy all function on a pull tab number system. On the one hand, it's way more convenient then standing in line, you just pull your number and relax til it comes up. On the other hand it makes me want to finish every interaction with "and I'd also like a half pound of provolone."

Hopefully, this is the last I'll have to experience of hospitals in the next six months!
~Hannah