Overworked and unheard, South Korean doctors on mass walkout

Overworked and unheard, South Korean doctors on mass walkout

SEOUL — Ryu Ok Hada always wanted to help people, but now the South Korean trainee doctor has walked off the job and stands outside the hospital where he worked, holding his medical gown in his hand.

Park Dan, who recently realized his childhood dream of being an emergency physician, is also one of over 7,800 interns and residents who have resigned in a confrontation with the government, which threatens to arrest them.

Ryu and Park say the junior doctors, a crucial cog in South Korea’s highly regarded medical system, are overworked, underpaid and unheard.

Hospitals have turned away patients and cancelled surgeries after about two-thirds of the country’s young doctors walked off the job this month in protest.

The young doctors say their pay and working conditions should be the priority, rather than the government’s plan to boost the number of physicians. The authorities say more staff are needed to increase healthcare services in remote areas and meet the growing demands of one of the world’s most rapidly ageing societies.

“The current medical system in South Korea, which is a great one, is run by making cheap trainee doctors keep grinding,” Ryu, 25, told Reuters.

Senior doctors and private practitioners have not walked out but have held rallies urging the government to scrap its plan, with 400 gathering in Seoul on Sunday.

But the government’s plan to boost medical school admissions is popular, with about 76% of respondents in favour, regardless of political affiliation, a recent Gallup Korea poll found.

Torn between patients, policy

Intern and resident doctors in South Korea work 36-hour shifts, compared to shifts of less than 24 hours in the U.S., according to the Korean Intern Resident Association. It says half the young U.S. physicians work 60 hours a week or less, while Korean doctors

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