5-minute Delay

Today I donated KRW 100,000 (about 80 dollars) to a disability rights group, “Solidarity against Disability Discrimination.” The activists of the group are protesting in the subway in Seoul, demanding all of the subway stations in Seoul should be equipped with elevators for people with disabilities. Their “protest” is just trying to take a subway using their wheelchairs during rush hour when all public transportation is crowded with commuters. The subway was delayed, many commuters were angry with the protesters, and the Seoul mayor sued the protesters. The court ruled against the activists and ordered them “not to delay the subway for more than 5 minutes”.

The disability activists holding a protest inside Seoul Subway (quoted from Yonhap)

Their protest reminds me of my clinic, which is crowded with people with cancer. I see patients every 3 to 5 minutes, and usually see 30 to 40 patients per session (for 3 to 4 hours). I rarely conduct physical exams on my patients, except for special cases with unstable medical conditions. Because it takes several more minutes, it will delay other patients’ appointments, and they will be very angry and yell at the nurses outside the exam room. Instead of doing a thorough physical exam, I just ask them how things are going, and prescribe medication, and that’s it. This fast-paced clinical practice can help me and my patients save time. But is this a real time-saver? I might miss some important symptoms or signs of my patients’ illness. Detecting early signs of change and managing them appropriately in the course of their disease might help my patients suffer less.

Some citizens are complaining that they lost time due to the protest. But we may actually be losing something more valuable than saving just those 5 minutes.