Inside UNIST Healthcare Services

Opening of UNIST Clinic & Pharma will be an important step towards creating a safe and secure environment where students feel comfortable learning, creating, and growing!                                                                                   

―President Yong Hoon Lee

President Yong Hoon Lee is delivering a welcome speech at the opening ceremony of UNIST Clinic & Pharma on May 24, 2022. l Image Credit: DIRAMS

Located on the first floor of the UNIST Sports Center, UNIST clinic offers a full range of medical and pharmacy services. It opens weekdays between 9 am and 6 pm, except for Thursdays. The clinic also offers “drop-in” sessions, where you can turn up without an appointment.

In accordance with Article 35 of the Korean Medical Law (Special Approval for the Establishment of Medical Institutions), the UNIST Clinic serves students, faculty and their family members to improve their physical and mental wellness. The clinic currently offers medical services in two departments―family medicine and psychiatry.

UNIST has been providing psychiatric services since the establishment of the affiliated hospital in 2016 and now provides services in family medicine. With the support of Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences (DIRAMS), it further plans to offer selected otolaryngology services. The clinic is staffed with licensed, qualified healthcare providers and certified professionals who collaborate to provide comprehensive healthcare.

The STORY section of this issue introduces the newly-established UNIST Clinic and Pharmacy and how this has influenced their lives. l Written by JooHyeon Heo l Designed by Bo Eun Lee

INSIDE UNIST HEALTHCARE CENTER: 

UNIST Healthcare Center aims to protect, maintain, and promote the physical and mental health of UNIST members, thereby helping them maintain a healthy lifestyle.

UNIST Healthcare Center provides a multi-specialty medical practice dedicated to caring for members of the UNIST community—students, faculty, and staff. General health care services, including health examinations, first-aid care, and health consultation are provided within the center. Various counseling and mental health services, including therapy-dog programs are also provided by professional counselors.

In addition to individual counseling, the center has operated group programs on various topics, such as art therapy, time management, psychodrama, animal mediated therapy, literary therapy, and presentation anxiety. Individual counseling and group program operation are consistently producing results in student crisis prevention and intervention.

UNIST Healthcare Center has been given the honor of being the excellent organization of counseling services in 2020. l Image Credit: Kyoungchae Kim

The center has been running online counseling programs even during situations of COVID-19. In recognition of such achievements, the center was praised for providing excellent counseling services by the Counseling Council for University Student (CCUS) in 2010.

Medical Office within the UNIST Healthcare Center is a primary care and walk-in clinic that provides first aid services for acute, non-life threatening injuries and conditions, including sprains, strains, cuts, fevers, colds, flu, other viruses, stomach bug, and food poisoning.

Located on the first floor of the UNIST Sports Center, UNIST Clinic offers medical services in two specialized departments―family medicine and psychiatry. The clinic opens weekdays from 9 am to 6 pm, except for Thursdays. It also offers “drop-in” sessions on a first come first serve basis.

UNIST Pharmacy opens weekdays between 9 am and 6:30 pm. Services being provided include answering your questions on prescription and over-the-counter medicines, and providing guidance for taking medicines.

UNIST Pharmacy opens weekdays between 9 am and 6:30 pm. l Image Credit: Kyoungchae Kim

The mission of Counselling Office is to provide accessible and compassionate psychological and psychiatric services to all members of the UNIST community. Services being offered include short-term individual counselling, psychological examination, workshops and presentations on a variety of topics, digital therapeutics, and group counselling programs on various topics, such as art therapy, psychodrama, and verbal therapy.

Bree, a certified therapy dog at UNIST, works 2 days a week from 9 am to 6 pm on every Tuesday and Wednesday. l Image Credit: Kyoungchae Kim

Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a growing field that has already been actively operated by Ivy League universities, including MIT, Yale, and Harvard Medical School. It uses specially trained animals to help people cope with and recover from physical and mental health conditions. The AAT program at UNIST has evolved since its first implementation in 2019, such as bringing in its first therapy dog, Bree and offering various stress-relief programs, primarily through therapy-dog programs. UNIST is the first university in Korea with a certified therapy dog, as part of its Animal Resident Program (ARP). Bree, a 18-month border collie, works 2 days a week from 9 am to 6 pm on every Tuesday and Wednesday. Her sole job is to be a calming, comforting presence for everyone around the campus.