Medical Care Abroad
I was apparently so stressed out about this that I signed up for two different insurance programs, one through my home university and one through my host university. Happily, this did not go to waste as bright and early Monday morning I found myself at the clinic on campus.
A1: Ask friends as it is likely that one of them will have gone to the clinic at some point (depending on time of semester). Be warned that this will lead to questions regarding what is wrong and could possibly result in people trying to diagnose you with severe, albeit very uneven, sunburn.
A2: Spend 15 minutes trying to navigate the university webpage in order to find clinic's opening hours (time this will take may vary depending on how (il)logically the website is designed).
A: It was Saturday night and the clinic would be closed until Monday morning. I set an alarm for the morning on the basis that if the rash had not spread it could wait until Monday and if it had I would prefer to be well-rested when trying to deal with it. I woke up at 7:00 on Sunday, looked at my legs, and seeing no further changes went back to sleep for another four hours.
Signing in: What a process. Tip: observe others. If someone in front of you goes to a little box, presses a button, and gets a sheet of paper before sitting down, this is a good indicator that you should do the same. I have no idea what this paper was for as it had a number but when the office actually opened for business the number order was not followed as everyone just coalesced into one massive line regardless of number. But I felt better having it.
Entering the examination room: I had not thought this would be a problem, but it was. There was a sign on the door asking people to knock, but all of my experience of doctor's offices in the US led me to assume that the room would be empty when I entered and then the doctor would enter. Thus I ignored the sign asking me to knock to enter an empty room since the sign must have been a reminder to the doctor who would follow me in. Alas, no. The room was not empty. The room was a combination of examination room and the doctor's own office. The doctor was startled that I had ignored the sign and entered without knocking.
Communication: The doctor I was assigned to spoke at least twice as fast as every other person I have met in Hong Kong. We struggled through the conversation and eventually decided that I was experiencing my first severe allergic reaction (to be honest, it was a first I could have gone without).
Solution: I was expecting a solution. I was not expecting to be given 2 different types of pills and 3 different types of lotion. It seemed excessive but the medicine itself was free which was a nice surprise.
Checklist for visiting a doctor while abroad:
***If injury is severe enough please phone an ambulance for immediate medical care***1) Identify problem ✓
A: Over the weekend I had somehow got an angry red rash on both legs, the likes of which I had never seen before. A phone call home informed me it was not heat rash.2) Find out when campus clinic opens ✓
(Campus clinics tend to be cheaper than hospitals)A1: Ask friends as it is likely that one of them will have gone to the clinic at some point (depending on time of semester). Be warned that this will lead to questions regarding what is wrong and could possibly result in people trying to diagnose you with severe, albeit very uneven, sunburn.
A2: Spend 15 minutes trying to navigate the university webpage in order to find clinic's opening hours (time this will take may vary depending on how (il)logically the website is designed).
3) Once this information is in your possession, determine if you can wait for opening hours or need to go to a nearby hospital ✓
(If going to a hospital, find a friend to drag along with you as they can help ease your stress and take care of you when you are not at your best)A: It was Saturday night and the clinic would be closed until Monday morning. I set an alarm for the morning on the basis that if the rash had not spread it could wait until Monday and if it had I would prefer to be well-rested when trying to deal with it. I woke up at 7:00 on Sunday, looked at my legs, and seeing no further changes went back to sleep for another four hours.
4) In the time between identifying the problem and getting to a clinic try not to worsen the injury ✓
A: Having been warned by my parents not to aggravate the area by wearing clothes that would rub against the rash, I changed into shorts until going to the doctors. Unsure what the rash was, I avoided putting any lotion or cream on it. Happily it had stopped stinging by this point so the waiting game was a relatively easy one.5) Navigating the clinic ✓
Allow me to rid you of any misconceptions you may be having: the procedure and etiquette for doctors' visits in your host country is going to be very different from Ames, IA. However, this next section is likely to be country specific so it is more to give you an idea of the differences you may face in order to encourage you to think about things that may never have occurred to you before.Signing in: What a process. Tip: observe others. If someone in front of you goes to a little box, presses a button, and gets a sheet of paper before sitting down, this is a good indicator that you should do the same. I have no idea what this paper was for as it had a number but when the office actually opened for business the number order was not followed as everyone just coalesced into one massive line regardless of number. But I felt better having it.
Entering the examination room: I had not thought this would be a problem, but it was. There was a sign on the door asking people to knock, but all of my experience of doctor's offices in the US led me to assume that the room would be empty when I entered and then the doctor would enter. Thus I ignored the sign asking me to knock to enter an empty room since the sign must have been a reminder to the doctor who would follow me in. Alas, no. The room was not empty. The room was a combination of examination room and the doctor's own office. The doctor was startled that I had ignored the sign and entered without knocking.
Communication: The doctor I was assigned to spoke at least twice as fast as every other person I have met in Hong Kong. We struggled through the conversation and eventually decided that I was experiencing my first severe allergic reaction (to be honest, it was a first I could have gone without).
Solution: I was expecting a solution. I was not expecting to be given 2 different types of pills and 3 different types of lotion. It seemed excessive but the medicine itself was free which was a nice surprise.
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