"Unable to Leave Pediatric Cancer Patients Behind... A Doctor Opposes Resignation Saying It Will End as a 'Show'"

A professor treating pediatric patients in Cheonan, Chungnam emphasized that "one must fulfill the duty of resignation and then resign."

On the morning of the 25th, a professor is submitting a resignation letter at the 'Korea University Medical Center Faculty General Meeting' held at Korea University Anam Hospital in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

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On the 25th, the medical professional media outlet 'Cheongnyeon Uisa' published an article titled "A Reply to Professor L Hesitating to Resign" written by Professor Lee Mijeong of Dankook University Hospital. This was a response to an article titled "To Professor L Hesitating to Resign" written the previous day by Professor Jeong Yuseok of the same university's Department of Family Medicine. In the article, Professor Lee explained the reasons why she cannot resign. She expressed the position that professors must remain on site for the sake of the patients they care for as well as the residents they leave behind. She also emphasized the importance of fulfilling the 'duty of resignation' by completing the tasks assigned by the hospital and the university.

In the article, Professor Lee stated, "The handover process for resignation usually takes about a month. At the beginning of this year, I started hospital and university duties with the tacit agreement to complete one year of work, and unless a natural disaster occurs, I must continue my duties until February next year." She added, "I do not consider student leaves of absence or resident resignations as natural disasters."

She then criticized the submission of resignation letters as ultimately a 'resignation show.' Professor Lee said, "The submission of resignation letters will not actually proceed. Some may leave the hospital after a month, but most will not be able to leave because there are still patients who have not been resolved." She pointed out, "If even the doctors who provide essential medical care while residents have left resign, a real 'medical crisis' will occur." She explained, "The public, blinded and deafened to the government, will curse, saying 'Those damn doctors abandoned us, and now even their damn parents are abandoning us.' Then, our children (students and residents) who left will be cursed even more. Moreover, the public who had opened their eyes and ears to understand our situation will close them again." She emphasized, "The moment we leave the hospital abandoning sick patients, we do not win against the public; we lose to the public. Worse yet, we lose to ourselves."

Professor Lee Mijeong of Dankook University opposed the resignation letters submitted by medical school professors through an opinion piece.
[Image source=Dankook University Hospital]

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Professor Lee said, "When the residents resigned, they left essential medical care, including critical and emergency patients, to us. Because they handed over their duties to us when they left, there was no 'medical crisis,' and there still isn't. However, if we leave while they have not returned, it will truly be a 'medical crisis.'" She stated that if a real 'medical crisis' occurs, "without any excuse, doctors will truly become 'medical traitors.'" She added, "If I submit my resignation letter, I will thoroughly document the records of the patients I cared for, secure hospitals and doctors to accept them, transfer all patients, and then resign." She said she saw a firm determination in the eyes of the departing residents and students that they would not return, and "Knowing they will not come back, I cannot submit my resignation letter now. Although exhausted and struggling, I will try my best to fulfill all my roles as a doctor."

It is known that on the 20th, during a Dankook University College of Medicine faculty meeting discussing the submission of resignation letters, Professor Lee opposed the idea, citing "there are pediatric cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy." After the general meeting, Professor Jeong Yuseok explained the medical community's response to the government's medical school quota as a 'doctor strike,' describing its meaning and process. He concluded, "Korean healthcare declared death on February 6, and on March 20, when 2,000 quotas were allocated, the coffin was closed. Before the soil covers it, I want to fulfill the duty of a teacher one last time... What should we do? This is a difficult question that I and the professors working as doctors on this land must answer together." Professor Lee's article serves as an answer to this question.

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