Kim Hyung-bin, chief director of Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine Interview

In everyday life, injuries often occur large and small. It is good to go back to before after recovery, but if the physical function deteriorates due to injury, rehabilitation is necessary. Rehabilitation medicine can be said to be a field that provides medical assistance to return to normal life when it becomes impossible to live properly due to various diseases or external injuries. Rehabilitation is very diverse, such as other occasions such as traffic accidents, degenerative changes caused by a lot of use of certain body parts, muscle weakness due to lack of exercise, posture changes related to the use of electronic devices, and aging. In particular, as interest in life expectancy and quality of life increases at the same time, the demand for rehabilitation medicine is gradually increasing.

However, the reality is that while the demand for rehabilitation medicine has increased significantly, conditions are insufficient. Even university hospitals often reduce support due to a lack of professional manpower and lack of space. Some point out that the problem of patients choosing a nursing hospital after looking around various hospitals is serious as there is no place to receive rehabilitation treatment after being discharged from the hospital.

In this situation, a rehabilitation hospital is inevitably valuable to patients. It is even better if you can meet a professional doctor with extensive experience and know-how in the field. Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine Department in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do, is a hospital that offers unprecedented new solutions away from the medical system limited to diseases. Beyond a single field of rehabilitation medicine, it provides treatment solutions in cooperation with residents in other fields. It is also leading the domestic rehabilitation medicine market by developing new treatment techniques such as DUI. We heard many stories from Kim Hyung-bin, chief director of Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine, from the characteristics of the hospital to the reasons for social contribution activities.
Journalists_Kim Jinwook and Kim Yujin

Developed independent therapy called "DUI"
Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine is a large-scale hospital with a single rehabilitation medicine department and is located in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do. Chief director Kim Hyung-bin, family medicine specialists, and anesthesiology and pain medicine specialists are working together. Also, it is a place where systematic inspection and treatment are possible with university hospital-level equipment. They analyze the root causes of various disease injuries and mainly conduct appropriate non-surgical regenerative treatment.

Kim Hyung-bin graduated from Yonsei University and obtained a rehabilitation medicine specialist¡¯s license. He has a diverse career in rehabilitation medicine, including serving as a doctor for the national team at the Guangzhou Asian Games and the London Paralympics. In particular, he was awarded a commendation from the Minister of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2022 in recognition of his contribution to sports for the disabled. Kim also serves as an adjunct professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Yonsei University College of Medicine and meets many patients by running the Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine.

The difference from other hospitals in the Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine is that it is the largest single rehabilitation medicine department and has university hospital-level equipment. Typically, electroneurography and electromyography are possible, which are usually conducted by university hospital-level rehabilitation medicine departments or neurology departments. It can quickly find problems in the function of nerves and muscles, helping to diagnose them accurately. In Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine, professional inspectors are trying to find the root cause by using expensive special inspection equipment. In addition, the biomechanical analysis test closely analyzes the body shape, posture, movement patterns, and body shock distribution system.

The advantage of Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine is that it also uses a holistic approach rather than a limited course of treatment. This is because efforts to analyze the disease from various perspectives are needed to find the exact cause of pain.

¡°There are still many cases in the domestic medical community where diagnosis and solutions are limited to specific medical subjects. If you are confined to a limited area, blind spots will occur. In the end, it is difficult to make an accurate diagnosis of a disease with multiple causes, and eventually, treatment is limited. To address these issues, we have decided to conduct diagnosis and treatment through a holistic approach.¡±

For example, when a patient complains of neck joint pain, the cause should be found elsewhere, as well as simply examining the neck bone. This is because the root cause of the pain can be identified only after a close biomechanical analysis related to muscle strength, nerve and muscle function, posture, range of motion of the joint, weight and shock distribution system, and work environment.

¡°One of the most memorable patients was a handicapped swimmer with paraplegia, who visited the hospital because the shoulder joint pain was so severe when swimming. He was in so much pain that he could not train, and although he went to several hospitals, the effect of the treatment was temporary. So when I checked the athlete¡¯s training posture, he was swimming in a way where the rotator cuff tendon was rubbed. The problem was the method, so no matter how much he took the medicine and got the injection, it was no use. After analyzing the problem, he changed his posture. As a result, his performance has improved, and he won medals at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and the 2012 London Paralympics.¡±

Even when making treatment plans, Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine staff seek to restore the damaged area as much as possible, rather than temporarily blocking pain. In addition, they are trying to closely identify the root cause of pain, present solutions, help with rapid recovery, and minimize recurrence. In particular, this effort can be seen in the treatment technique called ¡®DUI¡¯ developed independently by Kim.

¡°DUI stands for ¡¯Doppler-Ultrasonographi Intervention¡¯, which refers to injection procedures in the right place using regular ultrasound and Doppler ultrasound. It uses ultrasound to quickly identify areas of inflammation and damage to the musculoskeletal system. In real-time, use the Doppler technique¡¯s Needle Enhance ultrasound to check the blue mark as the needle enters. When the drug is injected, Doppler ultrasound can be used to check the spread of the drug once more. In addition, blood vessel locations can be checked, so they can be avoided during injection procedures. It is highly accurate and efficient in that it can be checked in real-time. Above all, our biggest advantage is that we have a medical staff who have experienced more than 100,000 procedures.¡±

In addition to DUI treatment techniques, Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine provides a variety of pain-related solutions such as injection therapy, manual therapy, rehabilitation exercise therapy, weightless decompression therapy, extracorporeal shock wave therapy, and adjuvant therapy. The biggest goal is to help patients get out of recurring pain and return to their daily lives smoothly.

Study that was the only way out of poverty
Kim recalled that he lived in very poor financially in his childhood. He felt poverty was a sin, and thought that all he could do at an early age to overcome his misfortune was to study hard. And he also thought that the only way to help poor people like him was to study.

¡°I yearned for a better life while reading a book I got from my relatives in poor life. I could also feel the hardships of people living more distressed lives than I experienced. As I read the book, I heard questions such as why some people are so unhappy and struggling while others enjoy their lives affluently. I decided I should study hard to get out of the reality I am in and to help people who are more unhappy than me.¡±

Director Kim, who studied fiercely, was able to enter Yonsei University College of Medicine on a special admission. As he met patients as a medical student, he had no choice but to see people in poor circumstances often, and among them, the people who caught his eye were patients in need of rehabilitation.

¡°Working in the hospital allowed me to meet more difficult patients than I had read in my childhood. I remember people with severe disabilities who required constant rehabilitation, children with cerebral palsy who had to go around with their mothers¡¯ help even at the age of five, and patients with complex pain syndrome who were crying out for their legs to be cut off. Severance Rehabilitation Hospital was considering not only physical pain and disability but also mental pain and socioeconomic solutions for those patients. That was where I found my way to move.¡±

Professor Kang Sung-woong, a teacher he met at the Gangnam Severance Rehabilitation Hospital, also had a great influence on Kim¡¯s values. He said he learned what his mission is as a doctor by watching Professor Kang put responsibility and volunteer spirit ahead of economic rewards. Professor Kang Sung-woong is the first doctor in Korea to introduce a technique to remove respiratory aids and airway secretions in sutured tracheostomy even when patients suffering from rare neurological muscle diseases such as Lou Gehrig.

¡°Professor Kang is someone that I want to emulate and respect as a medical professional. He was also the first person in Korea to introduce respiratory rehabilitation therapy. A patient¡¯s breathing is directly related to his or her life, so it is difficult to try respiratory rehabilitation without much responsibility as a doctor. In addition, skills and effort are required for smooth breathing without airway incision or intubation when using a ventilator. Although there was no special support from the government at the time, I learned the sense of duty of a doctor from Professor Kang¡¯s leading efforts for patients in need of respiratory treatment.¡±

Director Kim is fulfilling his mission as a doctor to help others by doing social contribution activities. He supports not only medical services but also the economic aspects of the vulnerable, helping more people live a stable life. If he simply studied hard and became a doctor, he would have achieved only one dream, but as he became a doctor and helped people in need, he achieved all his childhood dreams.

Reason for Continuing Social Contribution, ¡¯Doctor¡¯

Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine is not a hospital located downtown. Nevertheless, the reason why many patients come is that it is well known through the introduction of existing patients. There are many factors that can be spread, such as equipment and skills, but the fact that Director Kim has maintained a close relationship with the community cannot be ignored.

¡°Hospitals are places where they come to address diseases and causes that cause pain. However, if it is difficult to fundamentally solve the problem even with proper treatment at the hospital, we should look elsewhere. In particular, I think the fence is needed for children who are socially and economically marginalized, especially those who are abused at home where they should be protected and loved. Therefore we are conducting supporting programs named ¡®Y with Children¡¯ with the social welfare facility, Good Neighbors for several years to help those children.¡±

¡®Y with Children¡¯ is a crisis family child support project sponsored by Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine and carried out by the Eastern branch of Good Neighbors. It provides various support to minors who are not guaranteed a stable living and learning environment due to low-income families and abuse in society. Examples include support for temporary shelters where abuse victims, art psychotherapy, and scholarships for children in five elementary schools in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do.

Director Kim is also active in supporting disabled athletes. He was a doctor at the Icheon Training Center from 2010 to 2014, and he managed disabled athletes as a team doctor for the South Korean athletes at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games and 2012 London Paralympics. In 2022, he signed an agreement with the Korea Paralympic Committee to cooperate in medical services for athletes with disabilities and provide various help for improvement and compulsory support for athletes with disabilities.

He sponsored Park Woo-chul, a wheelchair rugby player, for four years from 2017, and selected two disabled athletes from low-income families to provide monthly scholarships. Recently, Yoon Ji-min, the youngest player in para ice hockey, and Kim Yoon-ji, a Nordic ski athlete who won three medals at the 19th National Winter Sports Festival for the Disabled, were given a subsidy.

¡°It is unfortunate that sports for the disabled are often forgotten after receiving attention for a while only when there is a big competition. There are many disabled athletes who are trying to inform their country even though they have severe disabilities due to unexpected accidents or diseases. While serving as a team doctor for national athletes in international competitions such as the Paralympics and the Asian Games for the Disabled, I got to know excellent athletes who never give up in difficult situations and work hard. For those players, we have been steadily carrying out support projects not only in medical support but also in the economic aspect. Our hospital also regularly provides medical expense support projects for patients who need treatment right away or who cannot be treated because their socioeconomic circumstances are too difficult.¡±

In recognition of these efforts, Director Kim received an award certificate from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism last year. He signed a business agreement with the Korea Paralympic Committee in November 2022 to carry out various improved medical services for disabled athletes. He provided priority medical convenience and shared medical information related to sports for the disabled in order to increase access to medical services for them.

Last year, Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine and the Korea Paralympic Committee signed an MOU on medical services. According to the agreement, the two sides agreed to provide priority treatment for disabled athletes, medical support for national team candidates and rookies, share medical information about sports for the disabled, and financial support for them in low-income families.

As for the reason for continuing such constant social contributions, Director Kim replied that it is simply because he is a doctor. It stems from his belief that in order to properly diagnose and fundamentally treat diseases, doctors must understand and empathize with the person as a ¡®patient,¡¯ not just a ¡®disease.¡¯

Recently, he has been focusing on education as a social contributor. It is because one body is not enough to help everyone. In order for medical staff to consider the patient¡¯s condition comprehensively without grasping it fragmentarily, training for executives and employees is conducted at least once a week.

¡°It takes a lot of time to prepare education that can be helpful to the medical staff and even write a video script for the patients. I¡¯m also uploading related videos on YouTube to let patients know more about medical information that I haven¡¯t been able to explain. So, I spend almost all of my time studying and preparing materials after the treatment.¡±

One of his contributions is to help foster medical professionals to treat more patients. According to the National Human Rights Commission, the number of active nurses per 1,000 people in Korea was 4.4 as of 2020, which is only half of the average of 8 in OECD member countries. Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine offers three months of practice to students preparing for nursing assistants. Although there is little they can do in the hospital as they are students, he moves and strives to address this kind of shortage by growing the workforce well.

¡®Humanity¡¯, the most precious value for medical professionals

All medical professionals have the most important mission to work for their patients. However, it is easy for Korean medical professionals to forget their mission because they have to treat many patients within a short period of time due to a shortage of manpower.

¡°At some point when medical professionals are busy working, they may regard patients as diseases that need to be addressed, not as humans. Then, I think they will miss something really important easily. It is humanity. I think the most basic attitude of medical professionals is to treat patients as a person, sympathize with their concerns, and find solutions with them with love. I believe that "humanity" is the most important value.¡±

Rehabilitation medicine is one of the medical subjects that is expected to see a surge in patient demand at the age of 100. This shows that the outlook is bright, but it means that medical staff must strive to keep pace with constant changes to survive.

¡°In addition to the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, all members of the Korean medical community must change in line with the flow of society and demographic structure. Domestic medical demand is also changing significantly due to the aging population, the decline of the working population, and the development of robot technology. Therefore, it is inevitable to provide medical services in accordance with trends. In particular, it is necessary to consider and study rehabilitation medicine for the elderly that can support the socioeconomic activities of the elderly population, regenerative treatment for musculoskeletal tissues that are difficult to regenerate naturally, and medical services using AI and robot technology.¡±

Director Kim plans to continue to try to provide better treatment services to patients by making medical theses and books out. It would be a better gift for patients if medical staff with ¡®Humanity¡¯ could quickly update information in line with social changes, such as hot in the chest and cold in the head. This is why the Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine¡¯s scale and skills are recognized internally and externally.

Photos_Yonsei Y Rehabilitation Medicine, WeeklyPeople DB

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