Mongolian doctors in training

Korea’s top hospitals are training doctors from developing Asian countries, who are increasingly choosing them as their preferred destinations for acquiring advanced medical skills. Samsung Medical Center trained 68 doctors from Mongolia this year who say they are more than satisfied.

According to the hospital, 26 doctors from Mongolia headed home Sunday after starting their training at the center in September. Another 17 completed their training there in March, 25 in June and 26 in September.

This follows the signing of a contract between the hospital and the Mongolian government earlier this year. Many foreign doctors individually contact hospitals here for training, but the Mongolian government agreed to pay the hospital $1 million for the program. It is regarded as a new business model for local hospitals.

In a survey, nearly 90 percent of the Mongolian doctors said they were very satisfied with the program. Samsung Medical Center offered in-depth training tailored to each participant. They had advisor professors as well as a mentor designated for the session. Baek Min-ki, a urology professor at the hospital, purchased laboratory pigs so that a Mongolian doctor, who didn’t have much experience in pediatric urology surgery, could practice. He also invited the trainee to return from Mongolia to give a presentation at a seminar in Korea to build a network with prominent doctors here.

On top of medical skills, the Mongolian doctors had opportunities to experience Korean culture. The hospital offered Korean language classes on top of learning Korean culture. The hospital also organized a free clinic in the Mongolian district in Dongdaemun, downtown Seoul, in July, so that the doctors could volunteer medical services to their compatriots.

“I have had a good impression about Korea since I visited the country 10 years ago, and the experience at Samsung Medical Center proved that I was right. I was especially impressed by the advanced medical system and the teamwork of the medical staff,” said Enkhtaivan, a pediatrist from Mongolia.

Munkhbat, a surgeon from Mongolia, first came to Korea in 2007 after graduating from medical school to learn Korean. He already planned to train in a Korean hospital some day. While working at the national cancer center in Mongolia, he finally got the chance following a memorandum of understanding between the cancer center and Samsung Medical Center. He visited the hospital in July 2011 to learn about liver transplants and returned in November for three months intensive training.

As nearly 20 percent of the Mongolian population carries the hepatitis virus, many patients need liver transplants but there have only been a small number of surgeries. Munkhbat participated in the training program again in September, to learn about post-surgery medical care. “Now I am confident that I have the skills to do transplants in Mongolia. Many people kindly helped me during the training,” he said.

“I hope that the training program helped enhance the medical service in Mongolia,” said professor Shim Jong-sup of Samsung hospital who organized the training program. “We expect that the two countries will strengthen cooperation in the medical sector through continuous exchanges between trainees and advisor professors,” he added.

yjy@koreatimes.co.kr