Internal strife deepens among members due to medical school professors taking a leave of absence
Only some professors ‘declared individual leave of absence’
Contact patients to adjust treatment schedule
‘Backlash’ when passed on to employees and nurses
The professor also calls directly to change reservations.Professors announced a ‘shutdown’ on the 30th
Seoul National University and Severance seem to be operating normally
Chungcheongnam-do and Wonkwang University normalize after ‘Friday closure’
Although medical school professors who oppose the Yoon Seok-yeol government’s medical reform said that each hospital would close on a set date, it is predicted that many hospitals will operate normally. This is because there are not as many professors as expected who decide to leave their patients. It is known that a significant number of doctors believe that group action that risks the lives of patients is not right. Many point out that the ‘individual declaration of leave’ by some doctors is deepening the conflict with other occupations in the hospital, such as nurses.
○Seoul National University and Severance “will not close on the 30th”
According to the medical community on the 26th, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul Boramae Hospital, Severance Hospital, and Gangnam Severance Hospital will not close their hospitals and operate normally on the 30th. Previously, the emergency response committee of professors at Seoul National University and Yonsei University College of Medicine, affiliated with these hospitals, announced that they would initiate a ‘shutdown’ on the 30th, suspending outpatient services and surgeries. Since then, professors have been individually submitting vacation schedules to hospitals, but it has been reported that the number is not large.
An official from the Severance Hospital labor union said, “If the hospital stops providing treatment, it should notify the union and make an internal announcement, but there is no such movement at all.”
Daejeon Chungnam National University Hospital and Iksan Wonkwang University Hospital, which had previously announced a closure on Friday, also conducted treatment as usual on this day. Chungnam National University Hospital also sent a text message to patients informing them of normal treatment. A hospital official said, “There have been no cases of outpatient appointment schedules being changed due to mass closures.”
At Chungbuk National University Hospital in Cheongju, where professors have declared Friday closures since the beginning of this month, the participation rate has dropped to the point where there is talk within the emergency committee that the closure should be withdrawn. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, the number of patients hospitalized in large university hospitals nationwide as of the previous day was 24,085, a 4% increase from the previous week’s average.
○Increasing internal conflict within hospitals
In some hospitals, internal conflicts arose over the task of notifying patients of faculty absences. At University Hospital A in Seoul, the vice director of nursing reportedly requested the hospital director, “Professors who wish to take a group break should call the patient directly to cancel their reservation.” After this news broke, some professors withdrew their plans to take a break.
It is not uncommon for professors to adjust medical treatment schedules. This is because there are frequent cases of patients leaving the hospital for health reasons or attending academic conferences. Typically, schedule changes within a month or so are coordinated by the hospital call center, and urgent schedule changes within a week are coordinated by the nurses in charge.
But voices inside the hospital say the situation is different this time. This is because professors decided to take a break as part of a ‘collective action.’ In order to adjust the treatment schedule, you must speak directly to the patient, but in this process, it is also problematic that other job managers bear the brunt of criticism from patients or their guardians about ‘doctor group action’. For this reason, it has been reported that in some medical departments, professors have decided to personally make reservation change calls.
An official at a university hospital said, “The responsibility for medical care lies with the doctor, but a hospital is not a place where only doctors run.” He added, “After the residents collectively resign, other employees are going on unpaid leave, and in addition, someone else is taking charge of the professors’ collective actions.” “Dissatisfaction is growing,” he said.
○Professors still declare closure
However, it is predicted that the sporadic departure of some medical school professors will continue. Choi Chang-min, a professor of respiratory medicine at Asan Medical Center in Seoul, said he would be leaving the hospital starting today. Seoul National University Bundang Hospital’s Neurosurgery Professor Bang Jae-seung, Neurosurgery Professor Jeong-ho Jeong, Family Medicine Professor Bae Kyung-gyeong, and Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery Professor Kim Jun-seong also decided to leave the clinic from the 1st of next month.
The declaration of closure continued. The Ulsan Medical University emergency committee, which includes professors from Asan Medical Center in Seoul, and the Catholic University Medical School emergency committee, which includes professors from Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, will be closed on the 3rd of next month. Professors at Korea University Anam Hospital and Korea University Guro Hospital also decided to take a group leave of 30 days.
The medical community’s assessment is that although the spark for collective action is weak, it has not completely gone out. It is a ‘time bomb’ that can explode at any time. A professor at Seoul National University Hospital said, “The burnout of professors who have continued to be on call, perform surgery, and provide outpatient treatment without a resident is serious.”
Reporter Lee Ji-hyeon [email protected]
