First Trip to a Korean Doctor

Cate insisted on taking me to a doctor after school today. My sinus infection and cough that I've been battling for the past few weeks got worse over the weekend, so I decided not to resist. After classes were over, Cate walked me to the doctor's office, which is conveniently located right next to a pharmacy, just down the road from the school. I have this to say about the experience of seeing a Korean doctor - American doctors have a lot to learn!

For one thing, I didn't need to make an appointment. We walked right in, Cate spoke to a pleasant receptionist, and then we sat down in a clean, quiet waiting room that smelled like a mixture of lavender and vanilla. After less than five minutes, we were taken into the examination room. I didn't have to get senselessly weighed or measured first. Once I sat down, Cate told the doctor my symptoms and he asked a few questions. Then he checked my throat and ears with an apparatus hooked up to a computer. It was pretty cool getting to see the insides of my ears for the first time. I was delighted to see that my cleaning efforts have not been wasted!

After spraying something in my throat and listening to my breathing, the doctor made his diagnosis: bronchitis. He sent me out to use a nose-cleaning machine while he prepared the prescriptions. The nose-cleaning machine was one of the weirdest things I have ever seen. I had to use it for one minute on each side of my nose. It gently sprayed something up there that made my breathing suddenly easier. Impressive! Then the nurse handed us a special solution that I am supposed to gargle each day, along with the prescriptions. Cate paid 10,000 won (less than ten dollars), and we were off to the pharmacy.

At the pharmacy, we waited for about two minutes for my medications. I have to take four pills three times a day, and the dosages are already measured out into tiny individually sealed bags. The medication cost a little over 9,000 won (about nine dollars). All total, we spent less than twenty minutes walking to the doctor, seeing him, and getting the prescriptions. As I said before, American doctors could learn a lesson from their Korean colleagues!