A survey on training and working conditions of residents in 2015

ABSTRACT

The objectives of this study are (1) to examine the training and working conditions of residents after revision of the 'Regulations on Specialist Training and Accreditation,' (2) to determine the causes of problems with these training and working conditions, and (3) to seek improvement in these conditions. A questionnaire survey was conducted over two weeks. A total of 10,768 respondents and 1,793 valid responses were analyzed. Although revised regulations had been implemented, training conditions did not appear to have undergone any improvements. 52.9% of residents work over 80 hours per week and 27.1% respondents exceeded 100 hours per week. 76.9% of respondents indicated that they exceed the maximum continuous training time of 36 hours. 64.5% of respondents said their emergency room training time was over 12 hours. 25.4% of respondents' duty days exceeded three days a week. 34.7% of respondents said that they had less than three days off per month. The proportion of those with annual leave under 14 days is 70.2%. For substantive improvements in training and working conditions, new plans must consider practical factors in the implementation of improvements. This requires a governance structure based on participation, and an independent, objective training evaluation organization should be established to perform a reliable assessment. Above all, the government financial compensation plan must prepare for improving the training environment.