He has been working at the Rehabilitation Hospital Beroun for twenty-five years, the last few years as deputy chief. His vision is that young doctors should have the same motivation and desire to work in the department for a similar length of time: "To stabilise another very good team here to build on our work with Dr Sochor," he says.
You initially worked briefly in rheumatology before moving into internal medicine. What prompted you to do so?
Rheumatology is a very interesting field that I liked from the very beginning. But within my profession, I felt that there was a need to master the classical internal medicine. In its breadth it is a very "living medicine", which I enjoy very much. And coincidentally, I learned that the hospital in Beroun was looking for a doctor for the internal medicine department, where I joined in 1993. I worked there until 2005 and during this period I passed my second attestation in internal medicine.
Then you went abroad for a few years. Where was that?
The first time I went abroad was practically right after the revolution, when I flew to Montreal for two years. I worked there in laboratory research. I thought I might go again. So I didn't hesitate when in 2006, for a change, I got the opportunity to work in the United States in Maryland, where I was employed for five years as a physician in a private neurological institute. All in all, it was seven years of very interesting experiences, not only in work but also in life. After my return, I was glad to come back to Beroun.
Was medicine at that time different here compared to that in North America?
After the revolution, everything in the Czech Republic was moving very fast. Especially the availability of medicines, which used to be very scarce. For example, Dr. Sochor and I experienced a great rise in cardiac catheterization, which was very crucial for diagnosis. And it was with the advent of quality drugs, which gradually appeared in our country from the 1990s onwards, that we had a major breakthrough where we caught many people's health problems early and they did not die unnecessarily.
You have been working at the Beroun Rehabilitation Hospital for 25 years. That's an impressive amount of time.
It's been a few years (smile). Back in the early days, I had the opportunity to work, for example, with the legendary chief physician Josef Krotil, MD. He worked here for thirty years, but retired soon after I joined. Then, for about three years, MUDr. Jan Hapla headed the department. Both of them were very respected and educated doctors. Then came Mr. Karel Sochor, who is actually my lifelong colleague and professional partner. Together we had a very nice era here.
In the meantime, the hospital was bought by Mr. Ing. Sotirios Zavalianis. How has the hospital changed?
The transformation of the whole hospital, and of course of the Hořovice Hospital, was impressive. Before that, there was a lack of funds for any major investment in the repair of the buildings and the whole area. Wild nature was growing everywhere and, for example, where the Mental Rehabilitation Centre now stands, there was a forest where animals normally lived. There was a lack of office supplies, for example. Even as our country was developing, unfortunately some of the government facilities were in such a bad shape. Thanks to privatisation, it has been transformed into what it is today and now we are working in a totally state-of-the-art environment. The opening of the Mental Rehabilitation Centre has been a great benefit to our department. In the internal medicine ward we repeatedly "fought" with intoxicated mentally ill patients. We now receive tremendous help from our colleagues in psychiatry, who attend our reception when needed, give us considerable support and often take over patients.
After many years of working with Associate Professor Sochor, when you also served as his deputy, you now head the department. Can you describe the vision with which you took over the reins?
I certainly want to continue the quality care that we have continuously provided here under Dr. Sochor's leadership. Personally, I see it as a priority to continue to stabilise the team of young doctors so that they enjoy their time with us and continue to do excellent work. In this respect, we can build on the solid foundations that the former chief physician built here. We have worked here together for 25 years, so it would be ideal if the young colleagues also spent a quarter of a century here (smile). In the future, I would certainly like to see the radiology department have a computed tomography machine so that we don't have to take patients to our sister hospital in Hořovice for examinations. The results would be available almost immediately.
MUDr. Jaromír Janoušek, Head of the Department of Internal Medicine with Intensive Care Unit
He lives in the Prague-West district and has been a doctor for 40 years. Medicine is not only his mission, but also a beloved hobby that he enjoys and finds fulfilling. When he is not working, and when time permits, he likes to relax by rafting down Czech streams in both summer and winter.
