Why emergency medicine residents quit?

¹Department of Emergency Medicine, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea
²The Institute for Medical Humanities, Inje University, Busan, Korea

Correspondence

Yoo Sang Yoon ,Tel: 051-890-6120, Fax: 051-891-1465, Email: 101mars@hanmail.net,

Received: June 21, 2019; Revised: October 6, 2019 Accepted: October 18, 2019. Published online: April 30, 2020.

ABSTRACT

Objective:
The rate of dropouts by emergency residents is relatively high in Korea, which causes harm to both medical institutions and individuals. This study investigated the dropouts in emergency residents to identify the related factors.
Method:
In this retrospective study, data were collected through in-depth individual interviews by telephone after the first interview by e-mail for residents who dropped out of emergency medicine training, and thematic analysis was conducted.
Results:
Three themes were identified from nine subthemes: ‘Overload,’ ‘Disposition dilemma,’ and ‘Occurrence of negative feeling.’
Conclusion:
The core themes of dropout in emergency residents are complex, leading to skepticism about emergency medicine training and a loss of self-esteem as an emergency medicine doctor. Therefore, the guidance specialist should examine the appropriateness of the job of the resident to prevent the dropout in emergency medicine departments, recognize the ambiguous patient dilemma as a problem of the emergency system, and watch for negative emotions of the residents.

Key words: Education; Emergencies; Residency