University Hospitals Expand 'One Day Off Per Week' Policy... "Professors Facing Collective Overwork Death Risk"

"Emergency and Critical Patient Care Will Be Maintained"

Professors at major domestic training hospitals, led by the Big 5 hospitals, are increasingly taking one day off per week from clinical duties. With a shortage of residents continuing for over two months and accumulating fatigue among professors, this move is seen as inevitable to maintain patient care quality and prevent overwork-related deaths.

Bang Jae-seung, Chair of the Emergency Response Committee at Seoul National University College of Medicine and Hospital, announced at a press conference held on the 24th at Yang Yoon-sun Hall, Convergence Building, Seoul National University College of Medicine in Jongno-gu, Seoul, that they will begin a collective strike on the 30th. Photo by Choi Tae-won peaceful1@

According to the medical community on the 27th, professors at the Big 5 hospitals?Seoul National University Hospital, Severance Hospital, Asan Medical Center, Samsung Medical Center, and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital?will all begin taking days off starting next week. However, even on days off, care for emergency, critical, and hospitalized patients will be maintained. Participation is based on individual professors' choice.

Professors at Seoul National University Hospital will first take a collective day off on the 30th. Jae-Seung Bang, Chair of the Emergency Response Committee at Seoul National University College of Medicine and Hospital, held a press conference on the 24th at Yang Yun-seon Hall in the Convergence Building of Seoul National University College of Medicine in Jongno-gu, Seoul, explaining, "As medical professionals who must maintain daily vigilance in an endlessly bleak situation, we will try to recover some of the extreme physical and mental exhaustion." Further day-off schedules to prevent medical staff burnout will be discussed by the third Emergency Response Committee launching in May.

Professors at Severance Hospital will also begin taking one day off per week starting on the 30th through the end of next month. The Emergency Response Committee of Yonsei University College of Medicine held temporary full faculty meetings on the 24th at Yun In-bae Hall in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Gangnam Severance Hospital auditorium, and Yongin Severance Hospital auditorium, deciding on this plan. The committee stated that this decision was made to maintain professors' clinical capabilities and health, as prolonged work has pushed them to their limits in terms of mental and physical burden, burnout, and perceived stress.

Asan Medical Center will stop outpatient care and surgeries for general patients once a week starting on the 3rd of next month, adjusted according to each department's situation. The Emergency Response Committee of Ulsan University College of Medicine held an online and offline general meeting on the 23rd at the auditorium of Ulsan University College of Medicine in Songpa-gu, Seoul, agreeing on this. The committee explained, "Due to the mental and physical limits of professors amid a prolonged emergency medical situation, we have no choice but to readjust care and surgeries," adding, "Especially for doctors raising young children, continuous clinical duties and on-call shifts have caused childcare issues, leading them to plan to apply for parental leave."

Seoul St. Mary's Hospital will also begin taking days off every Friday starting in May, though the day of the week can be changed autonomously. It is known that an internal survey is ongoing regarding whether to take days off at the Catholic University College of Medicine level. Regarding specific plans, Sung-geun Kim, Chair of the Emergency Response Committee of the Catholic University College of Medicine Faculty Association, said, "The decision will be made at the next general meeting of all affiliated hospitals of the Catholic University next week."

The Emergency Response Committee of Sungkyunkwan University College of Medicine recently distributed a recommendation to professors to designate one day per week without outpatient care, procedures, or surgeries as a day off. Sungkyunkwan University College of Medicine has training hospitals including Samsung Medical Center and Kangbuk Samsung Hospital. The recommendation includes ▲compliance with the 52-hour workweek ▲taking one day off per week from outpatient care, procedures, and surgeries when fatigue accumulates due to overtime ▲appropriate rest after 24-hour continuous work such as on-call duty. However, the likelihood of collective leave on the same day is low, as the committee encourages individual professors to coordinate their days off with their hospitals.

Yong-su Choi, Chair of the Emergency Response Committee at Sungkyunkwan University College of Medicine, said, "Observing labor laws such as the 52-hour workweek is a basic human right," adding, "The recommendation is for professors who have clinical schedules throughout the week to readjust their work to ensure minimum rest." He continued, "It is practically difficult and unsustainable for all professors to take the same day off. To comply with the 52-hour workweek, professors need to rest at least one day per week. Individual professors will coordinate their clinical schedules with their hospitals."

These hospitals are currently coordinating days off with medical school professors. They plan to notify patients individually if clinical or surgical schedules change due to the days off.

Days off by medical school professors due to accumulated fatigue are expected to occur nationwide. Previously, the Emergency Response Committee of Chungnam National University College of Medicine decided to take Fridays off from outpatient care. The Emergency Response Committee of Wonkwang University College of Medicine also decided not to conduct outpatient care on Fridays starting from the 3rd of next month. The Emergency Response Committee of Chungbuk National University College of Medicine has been individually taking Fridays off from outpatient care since the 5th. Professors at Korea University College of Medicine have agreed to take one day off per week starting on the 30th.

The National Emergency Response Committee of Medical School Professors (Jeon-ui-bi) also announced on the same day that they will take one day off per week for long-term clinical care. After concluding their 8th online general meeting on the 26th, Jeon-ui-bi decided to maintain work hours within 60 hours per week by ▲adjusting outpatient care, surgery, and examination schedules ▲taking one day off per week to guarantee 24 hours of rest after on-call duty ▲maintaining an appropriate patient load per professor by transferring mild cases to focus on critical and emergency patients.

Medical schools participating in Jeon-ui-bi include Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Ulsan University, Sungkyunkwan University, and Catholic University, which have the Big 5 hospitals as training hospitals, as well as about 20 others such as Keimyung University, Korea University, Kangwon National University, Konkuk University, Konyang University, Gyeongsang National University, Dankook University, Daegu Catholic University, Eulji University, Ewha Womans University, Pusan National University, Ajou University, Wonkwang University, Inje University, Chonnam National University, Chonbuk National University, Jeju National University, Chungbuk National University, and Hanyang University.