50 hospitals in Korea impacted as medical professor resigns due to burnout

Due to the ongoing strike by medical students and interns, more and more medical professors and senior doctors at Korea’s largest hospitals are choosing to take one day off work per week, which is impacting medical facilities. To show solidarity with the striking students, many medical professors started resigning or reducing their working hours starting at the end of March. In April, they began voluntarily taking one day off per week, despite the government’s opposition.

The Committee representing professors from 20 medical schools stated that due to the mental and physical strain of the prolonged medical crisis, they had no other choice but to reschedule medical exams and surgeries. The suspension of non-urgent examinations and surgeries is only affecting outpatients, while emergency cases are still being treated normally, so it is not expected to cause major disruptions to public health services.

However, on May 10, a group of medical professors from four major hospitals in Seoul, including Seoul National University Hospital and Asan Medical Center, took leave as well. While the exact number of professors making this decision is unclear, it could potentially impact around 50 hospitals nationwide that rely on these major facilities for patient transfer and treatment coordination.

Despite the leave taken by professors, hospitals have assured that treatment for seriously ill patients and inpatient services are still being guaranteed. The Korean Ministry of Health announced on May 9 that licensed medical staff from abroad would be allowed to practice in the country in response to the ongoing strike crisis. The government’s decision to increase medical school enrollment quotas has been met with opposition from doctors’ associations, who feel it will impact the quality of medical services and increase patient costs.

The deadlock between the government and the medical community is causing disruption in medical services, with many procedures being postponed or canceled. Since February 20, over 9,000 resident doctors have left hospitals to protest the government’s enrollment quota increase. While the government believes this increase is necessary to address the aging population and medical workforce shortages in rural areas, protesters argue it will negatively impact patient care and costs. The government has made some concessions, but the deadlock continues to affect Korean patients.