Life as a Doctor

Jinchul Choi has worked as a medical doctor for more than 20 years in
South Korea. He is a family medicine specialist. Although he sometimes
changes his workplace,  his present workplace is “Bucheon Municipal
Geriatric Hospital” where he has worked for the past 7 years. It is a hospital
that is part of “Bucheon Geriatric Medical Center” and specializes in dealing
with elderly diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, stroke, and heart
diseases. His work is usually the diagnosis and management of elderly
diseases, medicine, and surgery diseases. Today, Kyla Choi has an interview
with Jinchul Choi, a family medicine specialist, to get to know more about
life as a doctor in South Korea. In addition, the interview will inform people
about how hard it is to work as a doctor and how to think when you
consider being a doctor.

Introduce yourself and your job briefly.
Hello, I’m Jinchul Choi and I have worked as a family
medicine specialist for almost 20 years. Now, I'm working
at the “Bucheon Municipal Geriatric Hospital” and I have
worked here for almost 7 years. My usual work is
diagnosis and management of diseases including elderly
diseases and medicine & surgery diseases.
Why did you choose to become a doctor?
In my case, I made a decision to become a doctor later
than others. When I was in 12th grade, I had no exact goal
or a future job in mind. So, my sister gave me advice on
my worries. She said that I could find my aptitude while
attending a medical college, and if I found it, I could
change the course. I accepted her advice and I attended
the medical college. I kept trying to find my aptitude
during the period, ,but the more I took the medical
courses, the more interested I became in them. From that
point, I decided to become a doctor and worked harder in
my courses.

What is your average daily schedule at your workplace?

I usually go to my workplace at 9 am and prepare for
medical treatment until 11:30 am. After that, I have lunch
in the cafeteria with my colleagues for 30 to 40 minutes.
My afternoon schedule is usually rounds or medical
treatment for visiting patients. Also, I have a duty on
Wednesday,  so, I have to work overnight on that day and,
on Thursday, I have the same schedule as other days.
What kind of character/mindset do you think a doctor
should have?
To be a doctor, they need to focus on their studies in
medical school and work all night long. So, basically a
doctor has to build his learning skills and physical
strength. Some of my colleagues quit the job or changed
their major because they could not handle their work.
Aside from this, a doctor should always have a great
personality in order to be a good doctor. Basically, if they
have respect for patients and have responsibility, they can
fulfill their duties. But, if they don’t, they can make
mistakes in their work and regret their life. Those mindset
cannot say the doctor’s qualifications but they are needed
in order to become a better doctor
on  food or how they should or should not act. If the
patient does not follow the treatment, the disease can
become more serious and harder to cure so I have to
convince them to follow my treatment. And some patients
are not satisfied with the treatment or diagnosis they get.
In this case, I also have to convince them, and it’s very
hard to treat them. But, I know this is also part of my duty
so I always try my best on that.
Do you have any advice/opinions that you can give to people
who want to become a doctor?
Realistically, if you become a doctor, you will be
guaranteed a higher profit than other jobs. But I don’t
think it’s a good choice for income or remuneration. It will
not be easy to ensure a high profit in the future because of
the advances in science, and other jobs such as finance or
business may be better if you want to make a lot of money.
And it doesn’t mean that you have to become a doctor just
because you go to medical school. There are several cases
of changing majors when students  find their aptitude
while taking different courses. Furthermore, there are
various jobs in the health medical profession, including
pharmacists, physical therapists, and clinical
pathologists, and all of them are important. So, I think it
would be a good choice to decide your career by
considering a variety of professions instead of just looking
at your job as a doctor.

What is the hardest thing you have experienced working as a

doctor in your hospital?
Well, sometimes I have some conflicts with the patients.
Since most of my patients are elderly, the conflict with
them is the hardest thing. Some patients don’t follow my
treatment such as taking medicine and having restrictions

Many students have wished to be a doctor and you had thought that a
doctor is the job only for the top-ranked students. However, after this
interview, you might have changed your thoughts. To be a doctor, students
also need the physical strength and personalization. In order to be a good
doctor, you need a perfect knowledge for your major, the physical strength
to handle the excessive work, and responsibility for the patients. Jin chul
Choi is a doctor who has successfully worked as a family medicine specialist
for his patients with a warm heart and strong responsibility.

Editor : Kyla Choi

E-mail : kchoi@mbis.kr