Ryu Ok-Ha’s thoughts on majoring… “Despair after being called ‘euimas’”

Qualitative survey of written and face-to-face interviews with 150 medical residents
“The special committee on public deliberation is positive, but the timing is inappropriate.”

“The stones being thrown by the people are very painful. The patient I treated swears by calling me ‘Uiju-bin’ (a coinage comparing the doctor to Jo Joo-bin, a sex offender in the N Room incident) and ‘Uimas’ (a coinage comparing the doctor to the Palestinian armed political faction Hamas). “I don’t think even a murderer would hear such harsh criticism.”

This is the sentiment of Mr. A, a 4th year resident. As the conflict between doctors and doctors deepens, the number of medical residents who are concerned about the cracks in trust between patients and chairs is increasing.

Ryu Ok-Ha, a retired resident at Daejeon St. Mary’s Hospital, said on the 16th at the Center Point Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, ‘What are the retired residents thinking? A press conference was held under the theme of ‘announcement of qualitative survey results from written and face-to-face interviews with 150 medical residents.’ At this event, Ryu Ok presented written and interview information from a total of 20 residents, including interns and residents. The survey was conducted from the 13th of last month to the 12th of this month, and a total of 150 people participated, of which 20 were selected.

Mr. Ryu Yok conveyed the thoughts of Mr. A, whom he interviewed, and said, “The residents who resigned said several times that ‘anger changed to despair.’” He added, “Is there any country that demonizes doctors like this?” and added, “When I hear a patient who saved his life calling me a liar, I really feel like I want to drink at night.”

Mr. Ryu Ok said, “Some people in their last year of majors decide to stay because they feel like the time they spent four years was a waste, but second-year and first-year students seem to be leaving without any regrets.”

In the survey, Mr. B, a third-year resident, raised issues with the current training process and criticized, “We need to improve the training process where people work excessively unrelated to their education and end up ruining their health.” According to a 2022 survey by the Korean Medical Residents Association, the average weekly working hours of medical residents was 77.7 hours, and those working more than 100 hours accounted for 25%.

Mr. Ryu Ok said that there is widespread pessimism that the current legislative conflict will be repeated in the next administration. Intern C said, “I believe that this medical reform will be repeated in the next administration,” and “I don’t want to receive medical residency training because each administration will demonize doctors and the people will throw stones together.” Mr. D, a first-year resident, said, “There is no hope wherever I look, whether it be the government, the media, or public opinion.” He added, “Even if this is completed, there is a fundamental question as to whether the perception of doctors and the training environment for residents will improve.” did.

Ryu-ok guessed that half of the majors who resigned would be thinking of returning. However, it was said that the premise was to make the 38-month military service period realistic. She went on to explain, “The reason medical students do not enlist as active-duty soldiers is because they are worried about being left alone, but if the atmosphere of everyone going to active-duty soldiers becomes a reality, the problem of military doctor resources will become more difficult.”

There were also voices calling for a reconsideration of the increase in medical schools from the beginning. Mr. Ryu Ok said, “Only the residents have left the hospital, and 93% of the doctors are protecting the hospital.” He added, “They constantly put this frame of ‘abandoning patients and putting their lives as collateral.’ What kind of doctor would do that?” She then emphasized, “I ask the government to reconsider expanding the number of medical schools from the beginning so that the patient-doctor relationship in our country’s medical system no longer becomes irreparable.”

Mr. Ryu Yok positively evaluated Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who proposed a ‘special committee for public deliberation’ as a solution to the legislative conflict. However, he said time was running out. He said, “Even if it is organized, it is questionable how much of the majors’ voices will be included.” He added, “I think the idea of ​​making it public is positive, but I don’t think the timing is right right now.”

Reporter Lee Ji-min [email protected]

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