HEALTH SYSTEM. Medical workers are on the move at a general hospital in the western city of Incheon on March 11, 2024. More than 90 percent of South Korea’s 13,000 trainee doctors continue to defy the government’s return-to-work order as they disagree with the government’s plan to increase enrollment quota in medical schools saying this will compromise the quality of medical education and services and create a surplus of physicians. (Yonhap)
SEOUL – Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong expressed deep concerns Tuesday over medical professors' decision to resign, vis-a-vis the ongoing confrontation between the government and striking trainee doctors, vowing efforts to seek a breakthrough.
On Monday, medical school professors at Seoul National University (SNU) resolved to submit resignations en masse next week if the government fails to present "a reasonable breakthrough" in the prolonged walkout.
"The decision threatens the lives and health of patients, which is a source of grave concern. Another mass resignation will put the lives of the patients at risk and will not be able to win the public's understanding," Cho said during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.
The government will strive to have talks with striking doctors and persuade them to end the collective action, and will actively listen to medical professors to resolve the situation, the minister said.
More than 90 percent of the country's 13,000 trainee doctors walked off the job in the form of mass resignations more than three weeks ago to protest the government's decision to increase enrollment at medical schools by 2,000 spots starting next year to address a shortage of doctors. The current quota is 3,058.
Cho, however, once again stressed the government's firm stance, saying that the government will hold those who committed wrongdoings accountable and continue to push for reform measures "to normalize the country's medical system."
As of Monday, the government sent prior notices of license suspension to a total of 5,556 trainee doctors who have defied the state return-to-work order.
As medical service disruptions have worsened, the health ministry on Tuesday opened a hotline to protect physicians wishing to return.
The government has also deployed military surgeons and public health doctors at strike-hit hospitals to help care for patients affected by the walkout.
The government is pushing to increase the admission quota to address a shortage of doctors, particularly in rural areas and essential medical fields, such as high-risk surgeries, pediatrics, obstetrics, and emergency medicine.
Given the rapid population aging and other issues, the country is also expected to run short of 15,000 doctors by 2035.
But doctors argue that the quota hikes would compromise the quality of medical education and services and create a surplus of physicians, and the government must devise ways of better protecting them from malpractice suits and extending compensation to induce more physicians to practice in such "unpopular" areas. (Yonhap)
