In Midst of Pandemic, Korean Doctors Threaten to Go On Strike
I learned something new today; I did not know that Korea had a quota on the number of students who can be trained to become a doctor:
The Moon Jae-in administration has been at odds with doctors over its healthcare reform bills that will increase the number of medical students admitted to universities and establish a state-funded medical school.
Korea Times
The government said July 23 that it wants to produce more doctors to broaden the reach of public health care services as the necessity for this was confirmed with the onset of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As soon as the plan was made public, however, doctors’ groups were up in arms immediately, vowing to go on strike.
The Korea Medical Association (KMA), the nation’s largest union for doctors, and the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) announced plans to stage an all-out strike Aug. 14 to protest the reform.
You can read more at the link, but what is going on is that the Moon administration is trying to increase the number of doctors so there are more of them in rural areas. However, the KMA is saying the issue is not the number of doctors, but the fact that doctors flock to the Greater Seoul Metropolitan Area because of higher pay and quality of life factors.
I did not know that Korea had a quota on the number of students who can be trained to become a doctor
I don’t know about the ROK, but in the US I’ve read there is a problem with residency caps. They don’t have enough residencies for the medical school graduates….who need them to be a practicing doctor.
The right answer for all “professional” men and women is to stage a trike, eh?
Remind me never to get sick in Korea…
It’s because they all want to live and work in Seoul. More than enough spots to go around but it’s the forced employment in the countryside that has them riled up.