China News Service, April 1. According to Yonhap News Agency, starting from April 1, local time, professors at Korea Medical University and University Hospitals will minimize the number of outpatient visits, based on the principle of "resting during the day the next day after working continuously for 24 hours." practice, focusing medical resources on critical and emergency patients.
According to reports, the decision was announced by the Emergency Countermeasures Committee of the National Association of Medical University Professors (Medical Education Association) on March 30, local time.
Doctors in private practice will reportedly work reduced hours to 40 hours a week. According to previous reports, some professors in medical departments across South Korea began to resign collectively on March 25 and shortened their medical practice hours to the legal working hours of 52 hours per week.
According to reports, the conflict between the medical community and the Korean government caused by the Korean government's expansion of medical school enrollment has lasted for 40 days. The report analyzed that these measures are expected to make night diagnosis and treatment in community hospitals more difficult, and hospital operating difficulties may be further amplified.
Currently, Seoul National University Hospital has closed 10 of its 60 inpatient wards, and Seoul Asan Hospital has also closed 9 of its 56 general wards.
According to previous reports, the South Korean government announced earlier in February that in order to solve the shortage of doctors, the enrollment scale of university medical schools in the 2025 academic year will increase from the current 3,058 to 5,058 students. The plan was strongly opposed by doctors' groups and medical students, and triggered a large-scale collective resignation of intern residents and a collective resignation of professors at Korea Medical University to shorten their working hours.