7 out of 10 doctors in Korea work 6 or more days a week

In a survey released by the Korean Medical Association, 7 out of 10 doctors in South Korea were found to work 6 days or more per week. The association surveyed 1,378 doctors nationwide online in September and October last year, and 71.6% of respondents said they worked 6 days or more per week. By specialty, residents had the longest average number of workdays at 6.3 days per week, followed by private clinic doctors. By institution, doctors at tertiary general hospitals had the highest average number of workdays at 6.1 days per week. Doctors in outpatient care saw an average of 52.2 patients per day, while surgeons performed an average of 4.3 surgeries per day. The Research Institute for Healthcare Policy explained that such differences show the limitations of judging medical manpower based on the simple number of doctors alone. Meanwhile, patient and civic groups argue that expanding the medical workforce is necessary to improve access to regional healthcare and essential and public healthcare.