The Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) announced on the 2nd the launch of the Young Physicians' Policy Institute (YPPI), a think tank aimed at proposing effective healthcare policy alternatives based on field experience and evidence.
The Korean Medical Association, the only statutory medical organization in the country, has operated its own Medical Policy Research Institute. Resident physicians, recognizing that young doctors were marginalized in policy decision-making processes during past conflicts between the medical community and the government, plan to overcome these limitations by operating YPPI independently.
Park Chang-yong, KIRA's policy director, has been appointed as the institute's inaugural director. With the research committee formed and professional researchers hired, the institute will begin its first research project this month.
The inaugural research project is "A Study on Reforming Resident Training Curriculum to Guarantee Protected Time." Protected time refers to designated hours during which residents can set aside clinical and administrative duties to focus solely on learning, research, and professional development. While this has become an essential training requirement in advanced countries such as the United States, Korea has not established it even as a recommendation, let alone a mandatory requirement in training regulations.
"The Young Physicians' Policy Institute will serve as a focal point enabling young doctors to evolve beyond being mere objects of policy to become architects of future healthcare," said Han Sung-jon, KIRA president.
The institute plans to propose to the government and the National Assembly measures including a survey of protected time implementation at domestic teaching hospitals, calculation of appropriate protected time by specialty, and institutional improvements to guarantee protected time.
"By adjusting workloads for residents as workers, we expect to prevent burnout, guarantee their rights as trainees, and enhance patient safety," said Park Chang-yong, the inaugural YPPI director.