• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2015

Objective : The purpose of this research is to investigate the perception and attitude of Korean medical students toward career choice as a Korean medicine doctor. Method : The subject were 89 Korean medical students. Question investigation was applied. The questionnaire in this study contained 20 questions to investigate the perception toward career choice as a Korean medicine doctor. Results : Korean medical students showed higher interest in clinical practice, most of students(80.9%) answered they have planning for life's work as practicing Korean medicine doctor. First ranking as career they want is the pay doctor(36.2%), second is the intern(27.0%) as Korean medicine doctor within one year. The average age of students who answered that they hope to be intern is lower than who did not. Female students who hope to be intern preferred internal medicine, gynecology and pediatrics. But male students who hope to be intern preferred department of acupuncture & moxibustion, ophthalmology, otolaryngology & dermatology and rehabilitation. Conclusion : The result suggests that Korean medical students have an affirmative perception toward clinical doctor, but they are not interested in the other career.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.14
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• pp.5639-5644
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• 2014

Objective: This study aimed to determine effects of doctor-patient communication on the quality of life among breast cancer survivors in 16 communities in southern China. Methods: Multistage random sampling was to use to recruit 260 females from the Guangzhou Cancer Registry Database who were diagnosed with breast cancer. A questionnaire provided data on the doctor-patient communication (including the doctor's attitude, the patient's participation with the medical decision and information about the disease) and QOL (quality of life), as measured using FACT-B. Univariate analysis, non-conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the associations between the doctor-patient communication and QOL. Results: Females who received good attitudes from doctors demonstrated higher FACT-B (OR=4.65, 95% CI: 1.68-12.86), social well-being (OR=5.88, 95% CI: 2.16-16.05), emotional well-being (OR=4.77, 95% CI: 1.92-11.88), and functional well-being ((OR=5.26, 95% CI: 1.90-14.52) compared to the females who encountered worse attitudes from their doctor, adjusting for age, education, marriage, employment, family income, years since diagnosis, TNM stage, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and side effects, particularly when the TNM stage was 0-II and the patients exhibited no side effects. Regardless of the length of time after diagnosis, doctors' good attitudes resulted in higher QOL scores. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the doctor-patient communication has a significant association with the QOL of breast cancer survivors, mainly dependent on the doctors' attitude. Effective intervention is required to develop optimal doctor-patient communication.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.1-17
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• 2004

This study is aimed to assess the general population's attitude toward the continuity of medical care and its related factors. Self administered questionnaire was performed on the 1,120 office workers in the C city, Gang-won province. The questionnaire included the attitude of the continuity of medical institute, the intention of medical service use on a given case, and the variables of the related factors. 58.8% of the total respondents agreed to sustaining treatment without changing medical institutes; on the other hand, 41.2% showed negative attitude. In case that a patient would gain a recommendation of a surgery, hospitalization, or a specific examination, the total respondents' 84.9%, 61.8%, and 50.8% of each recommended situation said that they would visit another doctor and gain a diagnosis. As a result of multiple logistic analysis of determinant factor on continuity, reliability of doctors was statistically significant factor. In order to reduce wastefully used medical resources and offer well-qualified medical service, a system of second opinion among peer group or beforehand agreement could be possibly adopted. In addition, improving the image and reliability of a doctor could be an important factor to make better the behavior of medical service shopping; therefore, an effort to improve the relationship between a doctor and a patient, and restore the reliability of doctors should be paralleled.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.365-382
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• 2012

Background : Public hospitals suffer worsening shortage of physicians and face great pressure of recruiting doctors. This study is aim to identify the factors associated with retention of physicians who are working in public hospitals. Methods : We conducted a cross-sectional and self-administered questionnaire survey in July, 2011. A total of 333 physicians responded from the 31 public hospitals. We analyzed the difference of job retention across the variables among doctors stratified as salaried and public health doctors. We used chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis. Results : To the salaried doctor, longer work period(OR=2.04 in 3rd quartile), professional autonomy(OR=2.69), and positive attitude toward public health(OR=2.39) affect to the higher job retention whereas complain of low income(OR=0.33) and complain of poor clinical environment(OR=0.26) affects to the lower job retention. To the public health doctors, community connections such as hometown(OR=6.27), spouse factors(OR=3.49), and positive attitude toward public health(OR=3.19) affect to the higher job retention. But longer work period(OR=0.17 in 3rd quartile) affects to the lower job retention. Conclusions : Associated factors of job retention vary across physician's status. Professional autonomy has major impact on the job retention to the salaried doctor. And familial factors as well as community relationship have greatest impact to the public health doctor. Positive attitude toward public health is associated with the higher job retention to the both of salaried and public health doctors.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.31-46
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• 2013

Objective : To find a collaboration strategy between western medicine and traditional Korean medicine (KM), this study aims to figure out the changes in the perception and attitude of medical doctors toward KM through systematic review. Method : Systematic literature searches were performed on six Korean databases. Studies were categorized according to the respondents and question items and analyzed by the context of questions, similarity of respondents and measurement scale. And we analyzed the changes of response regarding to medical doctors' and medical students' perspective and attitude to KM. Results : Eighteen survey studies including attitude of medical doctors and medical students toward KM were selected, which were conducted from 1993 to 2011. Although the attitude toward KM did not show any positive change, medical doctors have had more interest in acupuncture than herbal medicine and appreciated KM's treatment effect for musculoskeletal disease. In spite of little KM education experience, they had intentions for acupuncture education at least. Many medical doctors have listed the unscientific aspect as a major reason why they cannot trust KM. Medical doctors working for cooperative practice showed more positive attitude than other medical doctors and medical students had more positive attitude in general than medical doctors Conclusion : Though the growth of KM service and cooperative practice since 1990s, medical doctors' attitude toward KM seems to become more negative. To improve their attitude, making scientific evidences for KM is required as well as giving more education and treatment experience.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.3-7
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• 2011

The status of medical doctors is relatively high in society. However, in spite of this acknowledged status, physicians are not aware of the extent to which they have the ability to care for patients or how much effort they should make to meet people's expectations. Therefore, we should examine what society asks of doctors and how doctors need to be educated to meet the expectations of society. In this article, the author asserts that physicians need four skills. First, doctors should know how to speak and communicate. In the work of a doctor, language is the most important for tasks such as understanding texts, communication with patients, analyzing data, and starting new projects. Second, doctors should have intuition. In a doctor's medical judgment, intuition is very important and it can initiate from an educated guess. In other words, good intuition can be developed based on a good educated guess, which in turn can derive from one's explored knowledge, communication with one's inner dialogues, and good interpretation skill. Third, doctors should have creativity. Doctors should produce an image about patients from intuition, and those intuitions are based on creativity. Usually, students in medical school have creative ability; therefore, the instructor should facilitate their learning to connect this creativity to free imagination ability and medical skills. Fourth, doctors should be humane. Patients want to communicate with doctors about their disease and further about their lives. The reason why a humane doctor is important is that this humane approach itself could cure patients and reduce their pain. When a doctor's humane attitude is realized in the hospital, the patients and doctors could be pleased sincerely.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.122-130
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• 2015

This study evaluated the meaning of the clinical clerkship through in-depth interviews with students who had experienced a clinical clerkship. The clinical clerkship is one of the most important steps in the curriculum for becoming a doctor. While students perform actual clinical practice, the experience also reinforces a great deal of medical knowledge and competence as a reserve doctor. However, departments that operate inefficiently have caused some problems. Therefore, this study analyzed the data from interviews of 25 students who finished the clinical clerkship in terms of the meaning of the clinical clerkship, the attitude of the students toward work in clinical practice, the attitude of professors toward the clinical clerkship, benefits, and drawbacks. Comments are feedback from a student's experience in the clinical clerkship, and they may be an important resource illuminating the current status of clinical practice. This study also discusses how to run an effective clinical clerkship by checking in with students on the problems they face in clinical practice.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2002

The proportion and role of public sector in health care industry is very small in Korea. Asymmetric distribution of health care resources is one of the major health care concerns. This issue is so important that it raises a question of accessibility, availability, continuity of care and equity of rural area people's health care utilization. To solve these problems and to satisfy the basic demand of oriental medical service in rural areas, the oriental public health doctors were placed in rural health centers since 1998. The main objectives of this study are twofold: to measure the cognition and attitude of health center directors on the strategies for utilizing oriental public health doctors and to provide basic data for improving the health manpower management program. Data have been collected by way of the self-administrative questionnaires. Developing the questionnaire, the literature review on the previous studies and delphi method were carried out. The response rate was 38.7%. The results of this study are summarized as follows; 1. community people respond positively on the oriental medical service activity in health center. 2. In regard to workloads of oriental public health doctor, 'appropriate' was 81.1% and 'burdensome' was 18.2%, respectively. 3. The 94.0% of respondents thought that the oriental medical service will be continued. 4. To activate oriental medical service in health center, the sufficient budget and provision of aid workers is a necessity. 5. The 75.5% of health center directors respond positively on the allocation of oriental public health doctor to health sub-centers. 6. Health center directors agreed that oriental public health doctor should perform the clinical service as well as prevention and health promotion activity. These results recommend that oriental medical service in health center should be continued gradually, and oriental public health doctors working at health center perform their work efficiently. Undoubtedly, their activity should be more focused on health promotion and disease prevention than daily patient care. For achieving this objective, more support of governmental policy is essential for utilizing oriental public health doctor and better health of the rural area community people.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.95-103
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• 2007

Objectives : The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of attitude toward the oriental medicine for 10 years. Methods : A questionnaire was done about general characteristic of patient, the decision-maker of use and the reason of choice or alteration for oriental medicine hospital. Results : The results of this survey are as follows: For 10 years, sex ratio of outpatients is similar, but age distribution is even at all ages. The choice for oriental medicine is more determined by oneself than by others. The recommenders are more variable increasingly. The most common cause of moving from western medicine is to get the more effective treatment. The more the concomitant users are increasing, the more the patients that did not give notice to the western doctor about the dual therapies is increasing, also. The most frequent reason without a notice is "being afraid of western doctor's bias". Conclusions : The appropriate transfer system between oriental and western clinic must be constructed and the proper recognition about dual therapies will be needed among patients and especially dual doctors.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.211-224
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• 2015

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate gender differences in the Korean Medical Community. Methods: Participants in the research study included 90 students regularly attending the fourth grade in Korean Medicine College, of which 48 were male and 42 were female. Results: 1. Patient's preferences for female KMD (Korean Medicine Doctor) had the lowest response rate in Korean Medical Society. Preferences for male KMD were due to factors including comfort level, rationality, good training, and patient's preference. 2. Patient's preferences for female KMD had the highest response rate in Gynecology, and Pediatrics. On the other hand, patient's preferences for female KMD had the lowest response rate in the other 7 specialty subjects. 3. The reasons for gender discrimination against male KMD were lack of subtlety, lack of empathy, authoritative attitude, and lack of patient management skills. The reasons for gender discrimination, against female KMD were childcare burden, social prejudices, lack of physical strength, and housekeeping burdens. Conclusions: The study results indicated that there was a lower preference for female KMD than male KMD among the Korean Medical Society and in patients' consciousness. Male-centered culture of Korean Medical Society had no role in this finding, but masculine image for KMD jobs and work-family double burden for female KMD were important contributing factors.