Why emergency medicine residents quit?

ABSTRACT

Objective@#The rate of dropouts by emergency residents is relatively high in Korea, which causes harm to both medicalinstitutions and individuals. This study investigated the dropouts in emergency residents to identify the related factors. @*Methods@#In this retrospective study, data were collected through in-depth individual interviews by telephone after thefirst 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 negativefeeling.’ @*Conclusion@#The core themes of dropout in emergency residents are complex, leading to skepticism about emergencymedicine training and a loss of self-esteem as an emergency medicine doctor. Therefore, the guidance specialist shouldexamine the appropriateness of the job of the resident to prevent the dropout in emergency medicine departments, recognizethe ambiguous patient dilemma as a problem of the emergency system, and watch for negative emotions of theresidents.