Professor Barbara E Harrison and four of her Master of Nursing students from the School of Nursing at the Oakland University arrived in Korea on the May 22nd 2008 to participate in the exchange program in Gerontological Nursing Care by Advanced Nurse Practitioners. This program was conducted by professor Gwi-Ryung Son Hong from the Hanyang University (HYU) and professor Barbara Harrison. In this program, a professor and students visit each country to observe and learn about the hospital conditions in each country.
On May 30th, 2008 all of the students and professors involved in this program, had a closing reception at the Club H, which is located on the sixth floor of the HIT building at HYU. The Hanyang Journal was invited to join them. The Hanyang Journal asked, “I heard you came here to observe the conditions of the Korean hospitals, what were some interesting facts you observed from the Korean hospitals, which are different from that of United States?”
The professor and the students from OU listed some of the interesting aspects they found, from the Korean hospital they visited. They identified Aromatherapy, Hospital without beds and comfortable atmosphere as positive aspects of the Korean hospitals. They stated that old patients falling from their beds and hurting their bones, is a major problem in the United States. They commented that the National Health Insurance, which Koreans currently have, is also an advantage because in United States, there are too many insurance companies and the policies for each insurance company differs. As a result, patients easily get confused and frustrated whenever they go to different hospitals. However, they thought the Korean hospitals needs to improve keeping the privacy of patients. In Korean hospitals, patient’s full name is posted on the door, whereas In United States, only a number is posted on the door.
After the reception, they were scheduled for a short tour of Seoul city. They left Korea on the June first, 2008