MEDICAL ENGLISH ARTICLES

  Medical students shun surgery departments due to heavy workload, insufficient compensation By Lee Hyo-jin In television shows and movies, surgeons are often portrayed as heroes, not only for their medical knowledge and surgery skills, which save lives, but also for their sacrifice and commitment putting patients first. But the reality is different. In Korea, the surgery department has long been one of the least popular specialties among medical students due to poor working conditions and significantly lower salaries, compared to the heavy workload. Students who have graduated from medical schools here go through a one-year internship in a hospital after which they choose a department to go through three to four years training as a resident. But surgery-related departments have been failing to fill their slots for residencies for the past few years. In 2021, only 141 trainees applied to the general surgery departments at 55 hospitals across the country, leaving over 30 slots empty...

Park, a high school student living in a small town in a rural area, tried to go to an emergency room due to his high fever of 41 degrees Celsius. But the hospital refused to let him in, instead suspecting that he had COVID-19, and instructed him to go to a bigger hospital. His parents then had to drive more than three hours to the emergency center of a university hospital in Seoul. He was admitted after being tested negative for the coronavirus disease, but he died thereafter of aggravated pneumonia. Amid the pandemic, the lives of some patients of illnesses other than the COVID-19 are being exposed to greater risks ― or even lost ― as hospitals fail to provide them with the proper timely treatment. In many other cases, the patients themselves are reluctant to go to hospitals. According to research submitted to the Journal of Korean Medical Science by Prof. Kang Soo at Inha University Hospital in Incheon, the number of patients who went to the emergency room dropped significantly durin...

A more contagious variant of the coronavirus, known as delta, is spreading in the United States and around the world, causing a surge of cases in some countries and prompting several nations to introduce new lockdowns. The delta variant, which was first identified in India, now accounts for 25 percent of new Covid-19 cases in the U.S., and is on track to become the dominant version of the virus circulating in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a news briefing last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, called the delta variant the  “greatest threat” to eliminating Covid-19 in the U.S. Here is what’s known so far about the delta variant. Why is it a concern? The delta was declared a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization in May. The designation is used when there is increased evidence that a variant is more tra...

  5G is the latest network of wireless technology. It’s used to transmit data between appliances, like mobile phones and  Bluetooth devices . 5G works by producing a type of energy called electromagnetic radiation. It uses higher frequencies than previous wireless networks, making it faster and more efficient. Electromagnetic frequencies, like those produced by 5G, create an area called an  electromagnetic field  (EMF). Some people believe EMFs have negative health effects. As a result, there is concern about how 5G affects health. But there are currently no known health risks linked to 5G. Read on to learn about 5G and what research says so far. What is 5G? Wireless technology is constantly evolving. Approximately every 10 years, mobile companies release a new generation of wireless systems. Each generation is an upgraded, more advanced version of the last one. In 2019, 5G networks were released. The term “5G” stands for “fifth generation.” 5G provides faster mobile...

  As the  COVID-19 pandemic  comes to a close, more Americans are seeking medical care -- only to find roadblocks to long-awaited elective surgeries or unexpected traumatic injuries: a critical  national shortage  of blood. In June, the blood supply dropped to "red" level, indicating dangerously low supply at blood centers nation-wide, according to the  AABB Interorganizational Task Force on Domestic Disasters and Acts of Terrorism. Donated blood products have always been in high demand in the United States. But now, doctors say, the crisis has reached a new, critical turning point, forcing some to triage medical care, reserving blood products only for the sickest patients. According to the Red Cross, the supplier of 40% of the nation's blood supply, nearly 7,000 units of platelets and 36,000 units of red blood cells are needed daily. On average, an American needs blood products every two seconds. Patients with certain diseases, such as sickle cell disease ...