SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean trainee doctors collectively walked off their jobs Tuesday to protest a government push to recruit more medical students, triggering cancellations of surgeries and other medical treatments at hospitals.
The Health Ministry urged them to return to work immediately, saying they must not endanger the lives of patients to fight the government.
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As of Monday night, more than half of the 13,000 medical interns and residents in South Korea had submitted resignations, according to the Health Ministry, and 1,630 left their work sites. None of the resignations have been accepted so far.
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More junior doctors are expected to follow suit. Under a decision made by their association last week, trainee doctors at the country’s five major hospitals were supposed to walk off collectively on Tuesday.
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At the center of the dispute is a recent government announcement that universities would admit 2,000 more medical students starting from next year, from the current 3,058. The government says it aims to add up to 10,000 doctors by 2035 to address what it calls a shortage of doctors exacerbated by the country’s fast-aging population.
South Korea’s doctor-to-patient ratio is among the lowest in the developed world, especially in essential but low-paying professions like pediatrics and emergency departments, and in rural areas. l
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Many doctors rejected the plan, saying that schools won’t be able to handle so many new students and that the funding is more urgently needed to raise medical fees. Some argue that having too many doctors could also lead to unnecessary medical treatments due to increased competition.
“Because of a bungled policy that ignores reality on the ground, I can fold up my dream of becoming a specialist in the pediatric emergency department without any regrets,” Park Dan, head of the Korean Intern Residents Association, wrote on Facebook on Monday, after submitting his resignation to Seoul’s Severance Hospital.
South Korean doctors walk out to protest medical training push, causing surgery cancellations
