Specialist Resignations... What About Emergency Room Medical Gaps Amid COVID-19 Resurgence?

Specialist Resignation Rate Tripled Last Year
Concerns Over COVID-19 Resurgence and Chuseok Response

Following the resignation of residents, the resignation rate of specialists has also tripled in the past year. With the resurgence of COVID-19 and the upcoming Chuseok holiday next month, concerns about medical service gaps are growing.

On the 15th, KBS reported citing data on specialist resignation rates submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Rep. Han Jia of the People Power Party, stating that the specialist resignation rate at 88 training hospitals nationwide has increased compared to last year. The specialist resignation rate began to rise after residents left, and last month it nearly tripled compared to a year ago.

An emergency room at a university hospital in Seoul has a notice about the shortage of medical staff. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

In particular, the resignation rate among emergency medicine specialists stood out. The proportion of emergency medicine specialists among all resigned specialists has increased since April compared to last year, and last month it surged to nearly six times the level of a year ago. The main cause of resignations in emergency medicine is analyzed to be the increased workload due to the 24-hour operation of emergency rooms.

Lee Hyung-min, president of the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine, explained, "After residents resign, other departments can adjust outpatient or surgery schedules, but emergency rooms always receive emergency patients, so it is physically impossible to reduce the workload." He added, "The departure of residents is extremely critical from the perspective of emergency medicine." He further stated, "There are about 800 emergency medicine specialists working at training hospitals and about 500 emergency medicine residents. With 500 out of 1,300 leaving, normal operation is impossible."

As disruptions occur in emergency room operations, some general hospitals have temporarily suspended or reduced emergency room services. Chungbuk National University Hospital, the only tertiary hospital in Chungbuk, temporarily suspended emergency room services from 2 p.m. on the 14th to 8:30 a.m. on the 15th due to overload on medical staff. The emergency room there had been staffed by 10 specialists rotating shifts, including six emergency medicine specialists and four pediatric specialists. However, recently two emergency medicine specialists took leave and sick leave respectively, making it impossible to maintain the existing shift system. Sejong Chungnam National University Hospital also decided to reduce emergency room services starting this month due to a shortage of emergency medicine specialists. Sokcho Medical Center in Gangwon also had to close its emergency room for a week last month after two of its five dedicated emergency physicians resigned.

The government stated that the situation has not yet caused a significant burden on emergency room services and pledged to manage the situation to prevent any service gaps. Kwon Byung-ki, the Essential Medical Support Officer at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said at a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters briefing on the 14th, "Emergency patients increased last month but have slightly decreased this month." He added, "Considering the current emergency situation, we have prepared an emergency response system for the Chuseok holiday and will actively monitor emergency room operations nationwide in cooperation with local governments and related agencies."

However, medical professionals are expressing concerns that emergency room operations may be disrupted ahead of the Chuseok holiday, when emergency patients surge amid the ongoing COVID-19 resurgence. Lee Hyung-min pointed out, "During holidays, the number of patients increases more than usual. Especially, mild patients increase, and when mild patients increase, appropriate treatment for severe patients becomes difficult, putting those who need urgent care in a very dangerous situation."