Educating for better health
Seungeun Park, a PhD nursing student from South Korea, talks about her passion for preventative care, public health, and Seattle.
April 7 is World Health Day, which marks the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948. To observe the day, we're posting three stories about amazing international students at the University of Washington who are working and studying (and making a difference) in health care around the world. Links to the other two World Health Day stories are at the end of this post.
Seungeun at Ewha University in Seoul, where she received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in nursing
Seungeun Park loves traveling, working with people, and learning new things. A first-year PhD student in nursing at the University of Washington, she has many diverse areas of interest: “I have an interest in public health nursing, I have an interest in aging populations, I have an interest in global health too,” she says. Her inspiration to go into nursing stems from childhood experiences. When she was young, Seungeun and her mother both struggled with health issues, and since then she has always wanted to pursue work related to health care.
Seungeun in the University District
Seungeun grew up in Seoul, South Korea. She arrived in Seattle this past September, but this isn't her first time in the U.S. - she previously worked in California for two years, in a small nursing home, where she was a charge nurse and took care of over 50 patients. One of her main interests is in preventative health care, educating people about how simple lifestyle changes like eating better and getting more sleep can lessen the need to seek medical attention, as well as decrease health care costs.
“Most people are really dependent on doctors and nurses, like 'I'm sick, I don't know what to do,' and they go to the hospital and the doctor tells them what to do, but they have to know themselves first,” she says. In nursing homes and other health care settings, she has seen many people being treated with pills and minimal medical care who she believes needed much more. “What we do for them is not right - their health is getting worse and we do something when they get sick, but we need to do something before they get sick.”
When she's not working, Seungeun loves to travel. She's been backpacking in India and many countries in Europe. She's also been to Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Canada, and many cities in the U.S. as well. And she loves Seattle – even the weather. “I like the mood here. I like the rain. When it rains it makes me feel calm. I'm introverted, so I enjoy that,” she says.
Being in a new place can be a challenge, though. Back in Korea, she had a great job at the Korea Human Resource Development Institute for Health and Welfare, as well as a strong community of friends and family. Despite the inherent difficulties in living far away from home, she says that coming to live in the United States is “a dream come true” for her.
Her other dreams involve contributing to education and research in public health nursing; she'd love to work for a big organization like the NIH, CDC or WHO. “Maybe someday I can be a leader or decision-maker in the nursing or public health field – that's my dream, changing society and changing systems – that's what I want to do.”