2024-04-23 02:39:16
The photo, taken on April 22, 2024, shows a medical professor walking through a general hospital in Seoul.
SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) — Medical professors at Seoul National University (SNU) are considering taking one day off a week amid a heavy workload, amid a long strike by trainee doctors, representatives of the advice of the emergency committee of SNU medical professors said, this Tuesday.
Representatives said the council will hold a general meeting next Tuesday and discuss whether to suspend surgeries and outpatient treatment once a week and how to do this.
“The remaining teachers have experienced heavy workloads and felt tired. That’s why we are studying this option,” said a representative of the committee.
The professors, who are experienced doctors in big hospitals, are struggling to fill the gap left by trainee doctors, as more than 90 percent of the country’s 13,000 trainee doctors have left their hospital jobs, since 20 February the Government’s decision to increase the admission quota in medical schools by 2,000 places for next year.
The current quota is set at 3,058 places, and neither the Government nor doctors have made significant progress on the matter yet.
The representative of the committee also said that the professors of SNU are planning to offer their resignation as well, according to their own agenda.
On March 25, medical professors began to resign and reduce their working hours in support of the strike.
Such moves by medical professors raised concerns about further disruption to the country’s health care system, as it was reported that the resignations have legal effect after a month, even without the consent of their employers.
The Ministry of Education has said that “many” teachers have resigned and none have been accepted so far.
The Government has proposed a dialogue, establishing a special presidential commission on the medical reformallowing, at the same time, universities, determine their quotas at a level of 50 to 100 percent of what the Government will assign for the next year.
However, doctors have rejected the recommendations, urging the Government to reconsider the matter from the beginning.
elena@yna.co.kr
(FIN)
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