The Zero Hour
Today is my last day in the U.S. I have everything packed and set, but I can't help but think that I'm forgetting something important. It's bizarre because I'm feeling all sorts of emotions right now and none of them are dominating the other. Though, I think the feeling of missing my family is slowly creeping its way up there.
Now, let's get to the plan.
When I arrive in Korea, Dr. Hong has arranged it so that someone will be there to pick me up rather than having me try and find my way to the hospital using the train system. I'll eventually have to learn how to use that to get around Seoul. I've already downloaded the maps, but they're in Korean and apparently they don't offer an English version, so...
Anyways, when I get to the hospital, I should be meeting with Dr. Hong and one of her surgical residents, who will be my roommate for the month. I am then scheduled to have an orientation the next day, in which I should get a tour, a uniform, and an ID. I'm not quite sure when I'll be following Dr. Hong as a doctor's schedule isn't set, but that should all be figured out when I get the chance to sit down and talk to her.
Now, I get to fangirl a little bit about the hospital I'm going to. (For some strange reason, I really love hospitals, so please excuse the excitement) As I've discussed before, I'll be heading over to Asan Medical Center, located in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Korea. Asan is renowned for being one of the best hospitals in Korea, receiving many awards for patient satisfaction, trust, social contribution, etc. It's also the biggest hospital in Korea, its floor space being 280,462 meters squared and having 2642 beds. They're well equipped with 48 clinical departments and 24 specialty care centers. They're a huge teaching school, being affiliated with multiple universities, research centers, companies, etc. They also contribute a lot to charities, not only in Korea, but around the world. They tend to send doctors to less privileged places and provide medical care. Honestly, I'm pretty sure there's more to them, but that's what I've gotten so far from their orientation packet. Hopefully, I don't get lost trying to find my way around the hospital.
I felt my stomach drop for a second. I think the nerves are getting to me, but I should be fine. I just need to remember to speak up when I need to. That's it. I should be in Korea the next time I update. I'll take lots of pictures and post them. I'm hoping to get a review of Dr. Rhee's book some time this week as I realized that, that book has a lot of explaining to do.
Until next time!
Interesting Fact of the Day
"Trauma is predicted to become the third largest contributer to the global burden of disease by 2020"
*Fact obtained from The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma