Improved Medical Terminologies as Foundation for Good Practice

Baik, Sang Ho

Abstract

A harmonious relationship between doctors and their patients establishes a firm foundation for good practice. Factors that affect such a relationship include communication skills and the language used. Essentially, the language should be clear and comprehensible for both parties. Doctors usually tend to use technical jargons. Since Korean doctors were educated with English textbooks, they are inclined to teach their students in English terms. Their use of old medical terms makes communication with their patients very difficult. Such language impediment complicates matters when doctors have to answer the patients' questions and ask detailed questions about their condition. And it is not only in the use of English where communication problems arise between doctors and patients. Most of these problems can also be traced to the use of old medical terminologies originating from the difficult Chinese characters. The Korean medical community has been conducting a campaign to replace existing difficult medical terms with plain Korean, Hangul terms. Particularly, members of the board of medical education are expected to make active use of the new terms in their teaching fields, in writing research papers, and in their clinical practice.