2010 Korean Society of Emergency Physician Survey

Lee, Hyung Min; Cho, Kwang Hyun; Yang, Hyuk Jun; Lee, Sung Woo; Kwak, Young Ho; Shin, Sang Do; Lim, Tae Ho

Abstract

The 2010 Emergency Physician (EP) Survey of the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine (KSEM) was the first comprehensive survey of its members on their working conditions, working environment, and compensation. The survey was conducted using a questionnaire on the web interface and e-mail from March to December of 2010. The subjects were currently active EPs working in an emergency department (ED). Additional e-mails, telephone calls, and visits were necessary in order to encourage the participation of members. Out of 841 members, 394 members completed the questionnaire. Excluding members who are currently not working in an ED, retired, opened a private practice as a primary physician, or unknown status, 635 (75.5%) EPs were working in 203 EDs out of a total of 465 EDs in Korea. There was a wide range of variations in ED employing EP. EP employing practices by the hospitals depended on the size and level of ED and the region of the country. ED employed 4.52+/-2.97 Eps, and 4.80+/-5.69 emergency residents, 4.21+/-3.05 interns, and 26.02+/-16.99 nurses. On average, EPs worked 17.51+/-5.84 days, and 7.87+/-3.17 night shifts in a month, 228.11+/-57.46 hours in a month. The average pay for the hour was 33,300 KRW. Satisfaction of the EPs with their compensation was below average. Important factors in selection of a workplace depended on night-shifts, time for the family, pay, and the relationship with other specialties. On a 10 point scale, satisfaction with their training was 6.38; the answer to selection of the same specialty was 5.53; satisfaction with the current emergency medical services (EMS) system was 3.85; emergency medicine in 10 years was 5.75. The adult APGAR score was 5.05. As in the survey, members of KSEM as a whole are working a large number of heavy duty hours, with insufficient pay. Most of them feel over burdened and unsatisfied with their current state. They also share a dim outlook on the future. In order to increase job satisfaction of EPs, there must be an improvement in the welfare and working conditions. This survey was conducted in order to obtain a clear view of the current status of EPs in Korea, and in hopes of contributing to improvement of the EP status. This survey will lay a cornerstone for development of an EMS system in Korea.