Nearly seven out of 10 Korean doctors said they are satisfied with their job last year, a survey found.

Intermd, an online site for sharing information among physicians, surveyed 1,002 doctors from Dec. 26 to 30 and discovered that 67 percent of the respondents were content with their work.

The rate is 16 percent higher compared to the same survey conducted in 2018. More specifically, 47 percent of doctors responded that they are satisfied with their jobs, and 20 percent responded very satisfied.

When asked how their job satisfaction will change in the next five years, 47.3 percent of doctors answered that it would likely fall, followed by those who said their satisfaction would remain similar to the current level (37.4 percent) and those who saw it would go up (15.3 percent).

Despite the increase in job satisfaction, the overwhelming majority of doctors (93.6 percent) said that they are dissatisfied with the government's measures to improve the medical delivery system.

The survey also showed that 60.7 percent of physicians felt they did not have enough time for diagnosing patients. In detail, 48.2 percent replied that they spend an average of three to five minutes with patients, followed by five to 10 minutes (25 percent) less than three minutes (19.9 percent), and more than 10 minutes (6.9 percent).

Regarding burnout experiences, 82.6 percent of doctors said that they had experienced burnout, which refers to physical and mental exhaustion after excessive work.

Reasons for burnout, in multiple responses, were too many patients (49.4 percent), worsening medical environment (43.5 percent), night duties and work on holidays (42.8 percent), after-hours work (33.4 percent), excessive administrative work (30.6 percent), long working hours and lack of sleep (30.2 percent), excessive demands from patients (30.2 percent), and lack of medical staffs (26.4 percent).

As to whether the government should allow telemedicine, 45.6 percent said they would support the idea only in exceptional cases, such as medical care for patients in military bases and remote villages. On the other hand, 49.6 percent said they opposed the idea in any circumstances, and 4.8 percent, in favor of the plan under any circumstances.

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