Tag: doctors

So even the Korean medical professors are joining in on the effort to keep the number of doctors in Korea artificially low. These creates a scarcity of the service they provide thus driving higher prices:

Some medical school professors shaved their heads or tendered resignations on Tuesday in protest over the government’s plan to increase the medical school enrollment quota, as the strike by about 9,000 trainee doctors entered its third week and the health ministry threatened to take disciplinary action against those defying a return-to-work order.

As 40 medical schools nationwide applied for a combined 3,401 additional admission seats by the Monday deadline in response to the government’s plan to hike the enrollment quota by 2,000 beginning next year, medical professors further stepped up their protests.

About 10 professors of Kangwon National University’s medical school in Chuncheon, 76 kilometers east of Seoul, held a hair-shaving ceremony Tuesday morning, expressing their opposition to the university’s application for an additional enrollment quota.

“Though many professors expressed their opposition to an increase in new admissions, the university made the opposite decision,” said Ryu Se-min, head of Kangwon National University’s medical school.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The trainee doctors are only facing a year supsension of their medical license which appears to be having little effect. According to the article of the 8,945 trainee doctors that left their worksites, only 565 have since returned to avoid the suspension:

The health ministry said Monday it started taking procedures to suspend the licenses of around 7,000 trainee doctors who have defied the government’s order to go back to work, warning that such punishment would be “irreversible.”

About 9,000 trainee doctors remained off their jobs at general hospitals for the 14th consecutive day Monday, protesting the plan to add 2,000 more medical school seats starting next year, from the current 3,058.

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said the government has taken steps to suspend the medical licenses of trainee doctors who left their worksites.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Some professions like the military, police, and fire departments should not be allowed to protest because of the important public servant roles they play. It seems doctors should be part of that group. How many people will have negative health outcomes from all the cancelled appointments from these doctors striking to stop an increase medical providers to rural areas?:

Tens of thousands of doctors held a rally in western Seoul on Sunday to protest the government’s medical school quota hike plan as Prime Minister Han Duck-soo hinted at the possible suspension of medical licenses for striking trainee doctors.

The rally by member doctors of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), the biggest medical lobby group, came as thousands of trainee doctors have remained off their jobs at general hospitals for the 13th day, protesting the plan to add 2,000 more medical school seats starting next year. 

Crowds of doctors filled up a street in Seoul’s western district of Yeouido, waving protesting flags and holding up signs reading “Absolute opposition to a medical school quota hike without agreement from medical fields,” or “Unprepared medical school quota hike compromises medical education.”

Yonhap

Look at the shady tactics these doctors are using to increase their protest numbers:

The presidential office also vowed to respond with “zero tolerance” after allegations emerged online that some doctors were trying to forcibly mobilize drug salesmen for their rally protesting the government’s medical school quota hike plan.

Ahead of Sunday’s rally, several postings appeared on online communities, claiming that some doctors were forcing salesmen of pharmaceutical companies to join the gathering. 

Salesmen of pharmaceutical companies are often under the sway of doctors who have the authority to prescribe or change certain drugs. A posting said, “I am being forcibly mobilized because a doctor I trade with said he will change drugs if I do not show up.”

You can read more at the link, but it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Does the government have the will to suspend or fire all these doctors? Pretty clearly the medical community does not think so.

Can anyone think of a strike where people were protesting against the addition of jobs? That is essentially what this is. The government wants more medical school slots to address the shortage of doctors in rural areas and current doctor trainees do not want this:

 A mass walkout by trainee doctors is approaching a deadline set by the government to return to work, as medical services have been crippled with both the government and junior doctors showing little signs of backing down. 

About 9,000 trainee doctors walked off their jobs for the ninth day in a row Wednesday, as the government ordered them to go back to work by Thursday. Unless they return to work, they will face suspension of licenses and even indictment. 

At the center of the dispute is the government’s plan to boost the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 next year, from the current 3,058. 

On Tuesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol said the plan is a “minimum necessary measure” to address a shortage of doctors and stressed that, “This cannot and should not be a subject for negotiation or compromise.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The government should threaten to suspend their licenses for far longer than three months. How about a 5-10 years; that would probably get them back into the hospital:

Interior Minister Lee Sang-min speaks during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters at the government complex in Seoul on Feb. 26, 2024.

The government issued an ultimatum on Monday to trainee doctors who stopped work for a seventh day to protest against the government’s plan to boost medical students, warning that it could begin suspending the licenses of trainee doctors next month unless they return to work soon.

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo told reporters that trainee doctors who refused to return to work by Thursday could start facing punishment the following day amid deepening concerns over public health as doctors and the government were on a collision course over the plan to raise the medical school admission quota by 2,000 seats next year.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The government should really revoke medical licenses from anyone participating in this strike that is adversely impacting so many patients:

To cope with a potential disruption of medical services, the government will extend operating hours at 97 public hospitals and emergency rooms at 12 military hospitals will be opened to the public, Park said.

“We are deeply disappointed and concerned that the collective action by trainee doctors has led to a disruption in medical services, such as the cancellation of surgeries,” Park said. 

“We cannot give justification to the actions of the doctors leaving their patients behind to protest a policy despite knowing what the collective action could result in,” Park added. 

“The government will put in utmost efforts to operate an emergency medical system to minimize possible damage to the patients.”

The government says the increase in the admission quota is needed to address a shortage of doctors, particularly in rural areas and essential medical fields, such as high-risk surgeries, pediatrics, obstetrics and emergency medicine.

The number of doctors in South Korea relative to the size of the population is among the lowest in the developed world, according to health authorities.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is pretty ridiculous that these doctor trainees are vowing to go on strike because of the government’s increase in medical students in order to address a shortage of doctors:

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (R) speaks at an emergency meeting with ministers at the government complex in central Seoul on Feb. 19, 2024. (Yonhap)

Trainee doctors began submitting their letters of collective resignation Monday in protest against the government’s plan to boost the number of medical students, while the health ministry ordered all of them to keep providing medical treatment. 

Worries mounted as doctors warn of a large-scale strike and other responses in opposition to the government’s decision to add 2,000 to the country’s medical school enrollment quota next year, marking a sharp rise from the current 3,058 seats.

Although the government had initially played down the possibility of doctors’ collective action, it is feared the nation will suffer substantial disruptions to its medical service, with some patients already experiencing delays in surgeries and other treatments in hospitals.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the ROK government is ordering the trainees to continue to provide medical services. If they do walkout it will be interesting to see if the government revokes their medical licenses thus ending their careers in medicine.

This is not a good look for doctors to be going on strike during a pandemic, but they are at least going to keep the ICU’s staffed with personnel:

Doctors working at vital departments, including intensive care units, will continue to be on normal duty on Friday despite the strike. Last week, trainee doctors at hospitals also launched a one-day walkout.

As of Thursday, 8,365, or 24.7 percent of 33,836 clinics across the nation, reported they will close their doors on Friday, according to the health ministry.

“It will take some time to estimate how many hospitals will join the strike, as some of them may also be closing for the vacation season,” a ministry official said.

South Korea’s medical law stipulates that the minister, or related regional governors, can issue an order for hospitals to open if “a serious hazard occurs or is likely to occur to public health.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this strike has to do with the Moon administration trying to increase the quota on how many doctors can be trained each year to try and better staff rural areas. However, the doctors are saying there are plenty of doctors, the problem is most of them want to live in the Seoul area for better hospitals and quality of life.

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.

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. 

Korea Times

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.