The 'Big 5' Thoracic Surgeons Upholding Harsh Realities Resign... Patients Pushed to the Brink

As the standoff between the medical community and the government over the increase in medical school quotas prolongs, a thoracic surgeon at a major hospital in Seoul has drawn attention by revealing his resignation, stating, "If the residents do not return, there is no future for thoracic surgery."

Choi Se-hoon, associate professor of thoracic surgery at Seoul Asan Medical Center, wrote on his Facebook on the 19th, "The thoracic surgery department, which has barely been holding on, will eventually deteriorate after the remaining members exhaust their bodies and minds," adding, "Rather than helplessly watching the day when we have to give up on the most difficult patients in this land, I would rather leave the medical profession."

On the 11th, when collective actions by doctors centered around residents continued, medical staff were moving at a secondary general hospital in Seoul. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article.
Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

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Professor Choi lamented, "It feels like I have a nightmare every day," and said, "I cannot believe that the medical system in this country has become irreparably damaged in just one month. Just a month ago, when the whole team was present, we were not afraid of any patient, but now, seeing patients is frightening and painful." He continued, "In the outpatient clinic, I blurted out to a patient, 'I'm going crazy too. If only our whole team were here, we could perform several surgeries a day. I really want to operate. It's not that I don't want to, but now it's simply impossible.' I was more surprised by my own words."

Above all, he expressed that after the residents and fellows resigned, the number of surgeries dropped to less than half, and lung cancer patients are waiting indefinitely for surgery, causing great mental distress. Professor Choi said, "It has already been a month since I have been performing surgeries and managing the ward without interns, residents, or fellows. Although I am used to operating overnight, so physical fatigue is not a big issue, my mental state is very strained," adding, "Since the residents and fellows resigned, the number of patients I can operate on alone is less than half of before." He added, "The difference in just one month is so great that I cannot compose myself properly, and even on days off, I suffer from insomnia and wait for dawn. I find this unfamiliar and frightening even to myself."

Choi Se-hoon, Associate Professor of Thoracic Surgery at Seoul Asan Medical Center, wrote on his Facebook on the 19th, "The thoracic surgery department, which has barely been holding on, will eventually wither away after those remaining pour their body and soul into enduring for a while," adding, "Rather than helplessly watching the day come when we have to give up on the most difficult patients in this land, I would rather leave the medical profession."
[Photo by Associate Professor Choi Se-hoon]

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Professor Choi, who revealed, "I cannot endure this situation any longer and am submitting my resignation," said, "I will not build new patient-doctor relationships, and after somehow resolving the cases of patients I promised to operate on, I will leave this proud hospital." He also said, "I was the happiest thoracic surgeon and actively recommended to every resident and student I met that thoracic surgery is truly a great department, and that those who do work directly connected to saving patients' lives live a life full of pride and gratitude. I was confident that if there was one thoracic surgeon left in this world, it would be me, but I never imagined I would leave like this."

Medical staff are moving at a university hospital in Incheon where public health doctors were deployed after the collective resignation of residents. As the collective resignation of residents prolonged, the government decided to strengthen the emergency medical system by deploying military doctors and public health doctors starting today.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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Professor Choi also criticized the government's plan to increase medical school quotas by 2,000, saying, "It should not be carried out hastily or coercively." He said, "We must carefully diagnose each patient's illness, plan surgeries, and cautiously judge whether the patient can endure surgery," adding, "How much more careful should we be when changing the entire country's medical system? No matter how good the policy's intention is, if it causes the collapse of a country's healthcare, it is just an amateur government."

He continued, "No one can deny that our country is the easiest and fastest place in the world to see a doctor," and "It is also a fact that it is a country where you can receive the most difficult surgeries at the lowest cost. All of this was possible because of the residents, but due to the government's ruthless policy, they have all decided to resign voluntarily in despair for the future."

Most importantly, Professor Choi emphasized that if the residents do not return, there is no future for thoracic surgery in Korea. He said, "Before the government insisted on this policy, the residents did their best to learn under harsh conditions, and many students pledged to dedicate themselves to essential medical care," adding, "In thoracic surgery, there are only about 100 residents nationwide. The handful of specialists graduating each year, about 20, each one of them can save 10,000 Korean citizens."

He went on, "The government is not making efforts to solve the problem and still treats them only with threats and orders," adding, "Knowing that the lives of thousands or tens of thousands of patients are at risk, I cannot endure this situation. I am giving up the medical profession I have built over decades and the purpose of my life to which I have devoted myself."

Earlier, Seoul Asan Medical Center, one of the Big 5 hospitals in Seoul, activated an emergency operation system from the 15th. The hospital has 578 residents, accounting for about 34.5% of all doctors, but most have left the hospital. In response, President Yoon visited Seoul Asan Medical Center the day before and held a meeting with the hospital director and key officials. He said, "There are opinions to increase quotas gradually, and it would be good if it were done over a long period, but due to political risks, previous governments could not dare to do it, so it has become too late," adding, "We cannot keep going through such pains every time."

Meanwhile, the Seoul National University College of Medicine Professors' Emergency Committee plans to collect resignation letters this week and submit them collectively to the university on the 25th. Professors at Yonsei University College of Medicine have also set the 25th as the deadline for submitting collective resignation letters.

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