"Workload in the Emergency Medical System After Resident Departure"
A professor of geriatric medicine at Seoul Asan Medical Center, who has been spreading the concept of 'slow aging' with about 350,000 subscribers, has been confirmed to have taken a leave of absence earlier this month.
On the 18th, News1 reported that Professor Jeong stated, "I ultimately couldn't endure it and took a leave of absence earlier this month. Until April, I plan to spend time on papers, research, and administrative work that I couldn't do before."
Professor Jeong told News1, "After taking a break once, I understand why residents don't come back," adding, "The logic of tertiary general hospitals, where 'no matter how long you work, you are expected to be worn out,' meant working about 100 hours a week. Now, I feel a lot that if I go back, I won't be able to live like before."
Earlier, News1 reported on the 14th of last month that Professor Jeong expressed severe fatigue and worsening of a chronic illness due to work overload during a phone call. It was also reported that looking at the duty roster from December last year, Professor Jeong was on duty 13 out of 31 days.
Professor Jeong explained, "I see outpatients in the morning and afternoon, check inpatients before outpatient clinics, and take night duties like this." It is known that Professor Jeong has been on duty for about 60 to 70 hours per month for over a year.
Previously, the government has been operating an emergency medical system for two years to minimize damage caused by conflicts between medical professionals and the government.
The emergency medical system is a program where the government supports medical institutions using health insurance funds to encourage treatment of severe and emergency patients during health and medical crises.
In February last year, after announcing four major medical reform tasks and plans to increase medical school quotas by 2,000, the Ministry of Health and Welfare issued the highest-level health and medical disaster alert, 'Severe,' as conflicts between medical professionals and the government intensified, including collective resignation of residents. Although hospitals appear to be operating without problems on the surface, doctors and nurses remaining in hospitals suffer from severe health deterioration and stress due to workload.
It has also become common for nurses to fill in for the absence of residents. According to data released last month by the Medical Solidarity Headquarters and the Citizen Health Research Institute, more than six out of ten nurses in the emergency medical system have to perform tasks that only doctors can do.
Meanwhile, Professor Jeong Heewon holds a Ph.D. in science from KAIST and is a physician in the somewhat unfamiliar field of 'geriatric medicine' in Korea. He usually focuses on geriatric medicine for patients aged 65 and older and has emphasized that geriatric medicine accounts for a large portion of internal medicine in countries like the UK and the United States.
As an expert in elderly health, Professor Jeong has appeared on broadcasts such as 'Secrets of Life and Death' and 'Sebasi' to raise awareness about the importance of preventing aging, and has also published books like 'Habits for Aging Slowly.'
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