From September 16 to October 25, 2014 (6 weeks) I was lucky enough to visit South Korea, which hosted the Second International Medical training Program-2014. The Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) of the Ministry of Healthcare of Korea held a grant competition for participation in the program among medical specialists from around the world. Successfully passed all stages of the contest, I received an invitation to the program and a grant to cover all costs associated with it.

This program involved 26 doctors from seven countries (Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Nepal, China). The whole training was held in English.

The first week of staying in Korea was organized in Seoul. This week was devoted to the management in healthcare, modern Korean medical technologies, the current situation of the market of medical services in Korea. We had been able to hear lectures of leading professors of Korea, to visit the exhibition of medical equipment. We understand that Korea does not see the future of their healthcare without health insurance (medical services in Korea are extremely expensive comparatively with Kazakhstan and even some European countries); doesn’t see future without technological progress and the introduction of more and more modern and progressive medical equipment (its abundance in Korea sometimes struck me and delighted); medicine is considered as a full-service market with its own management, marketing, advertising, healthy competition, the ability to receive service from the standard level to VIP; of course, a patient always comes first (his needs, his comfort, his satisfaction).

Also during the first week the Korea Health Industry Development Institute arranged for us a variety of tours in Seoul; conversance with the history and culture of Korea, unusual Korean food; specially organized lesson taught us some Korean words, phrases, sentences, which were very useful for us next 5 weeks in Korea.

After the Seoul lectures my clinical study placement started. It was held in Daejeon in the Department of General Surgery of  Konyang University Hospital. This is a really medical "city", arresting by its size, capabilities, equipment, service, attention to details of comfort of staying for the patient, his relatives and medical staff. Also I was surprised that the Hospital was a private company that was an example of very effective symbiosis and cooperation between the university, clinical medicine and business. Hospital was accredited by JCI as "the best medical system in Daejeon."

I was surprised with computer technologies ("at every turn") and lack of paper (all documentation - medical histories, examinations, statements, work plans of the hospital are only in electronic form, nothing is printed on paper). Also an interesting fact is staying of all surgical patients together with their relatives who provide their care. If the relatives don’t have such possibility, they hire a nurse (nurses and orderlies do not care, it's not a part of their job). I was surprised with duration of working day, starting at 7:20 and ending at 18:00. And also equipment... Cyber Knife which treats the tumor in any location. PET-CT system, which scans the human body from head to legs, identifying any tumor with a few millimeters sizes. And a host of other things.

Also during the study placement Hospital gave me the opportunity to visit two-day international symposium conference of the Korean Association of Hepatobiliary Surgery in Busan (amazing city on the Pacific coast), paying all conjugate costs.

On October 25 at the closing ceremony of the program at the Korea Health Industry Development Institute in Osong I was given the opportunity to address grateful speech and presentation about our country Kazakhstan, Karaganda city, native Karaganda State Medical University.

I would like to thank the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Konyang University Hospital and administration of KSMU represented by the rector Dosmagambetova R. S. for the opportunity of study placement.

PhD student and assistant of the Department of Surgical Diseases № 2

Matyushko Dmitriy