J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2022 Aug;33(4):1-10.

2020 Korean Emergency Physician Survey

• Kim SK
• Cho KH
• Kim IB
• Lee MJ
• Yoon YS
• Park KH
• Park SY
• Kim HJ
• Key DH
• Seo BS
• Joo YM
• Jee CG
• Choi SJ
• Yeo IH
• Kang JH
• Jung WJ
• Lim DS
• Lee ES
• Lee HM
• Wang SJ

Abstract

Objective
This study was carried out to establish a basis for understanding and correcting the problems of the emergency physicians (EP) in Korea by examining the current status through the 2020 emergency physician survey conducted by the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine (KSEM).
Methods
An online survey was conducted from January 15 to February 26, 2021, through a website and mobile application. The final questionnaire was classified into three types based on the clinical work in the emergency department (ED), current position, and the year of board certification. The contents of the questionnaire were organized into eight themes, and a subcommittee was put in charge of each.
Results
Of the 400 emergency medical institutions surveyed, 295 hospitals (74.2%) had board-certified EPs, and 1,453 EPs (72.5%) out of 2,000 were working in the ED. Of these, on average, 7.2 EPs worked together, and they worked 11.6 days/153.1 hours per month and did night shifts 5.9 days per month. 30.7% showed excessive sleepiness during the day, and only 9.6% said that they could adhere to mealtimes. 27.1% responded that they suffered from depression. The level of satisfaction was 3.2 points, and 43.0% responded that they would choose emergency medicine (EM) again as their major. The most important factor in choosing EM was the availability of adequate free time. Their responses indicated that the retirement age was 59.7 years, and the upper age limit for the night shift was 54.3 years.
Conclusion
Though there have been improvements since the first survey in 2010, there was no notable increase in EP satisfaction. Therefore, appropriate future policies should be formulated and implemented based on these survey results.

Keyword

Emergency physician; Survey; Workforce; Workload; Well-being