To overcome the stress, 59.5 percent said they need to rest. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Mar. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Almost half of all doctors in South Korea were found to be suffering from traumatic disorders due to the excessive amount of stress they typically receive from overwork and a lack of sleep during their residency years.
InterMD, an information sharing platform for doctors, conducted an online survey of 1,020 doctors on March 14, in which 49.8 percent of the respondents said they were suffering from traumatic disorders for being exposed to extreme amount of stress during their residency.
At 70.9 percent, a majority of the respondents pointed to excessive working hours as the primary source of stress during residency, followed by a lack of sleep (64.4 percent), low income (45.3 percent), and relationships among colleagues (31.7 percent).
To overcome the stress, 59.5 percent said they need to rest.
Others mentioned hanging out with family and friends (44.5 percent), taking up a hobby (30.2 percent), engaging in consumption activities (21.2 percent), and consulting with a psychiatrist (1.5 percent).
While 59.8 percent of the respondents said legislation set up to ensure a proper working environment for residents was helpful, 40.2 percent believed that the laws were failing to meet their objectives.
As for ways to improve the residency laws, 69.5 percent said there should be a realistic plan for staffing demands.
Others pointed to the need of robust financial support from the government (47.3 percent), penalizing hospitals failing to uphold the laws (37.7 percent), and allowing flexible working hours (37.5 percent).
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
