As a Director and then Vice President of the Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital, Choi Younsuk has contributed greatly to the promotion of nurses and their inclusion in leadership. During the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital volunteered to be the first COVID-19 treatment hospital. Younsuk took charge of the nursing department and immediately took action to prepare the hospital for this role, beginning with the transfer of patients to hospitals nearby. She oversaw the preparation of 216 beds and a team of over 70 nurses from multiple hospitals nearby. Despite an overwhelming first wave of patients and the need to work over 14 hours per day to handle the increased workload, Younsuk’s competent leadership on the frontline of the pandemic, in addition to the training she provided to staff on infection prevention, resulted in the effective control of the virus’ spread within the hospital. Throughout this period she was also engaged personally in treating infected patients, while communicating her experience and findings to the head of nursing departments at other hospitals in the region to better prepare them for future waves.
Board & Management
Choi Younsuk
(KOR) South Korea: MidwifeNurseNominee Highlights:
Choi Younsuk, Vice President of the Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital, possesses decades of experience in both nursing and hospital management. Her work on the frontlines leading the nursing department of the first COVID-19 treatment hospital in South Korea proved to be invaluable in understanding, containing and preparing other nursing departments across the country for the virus.