Mixed opinions arose as the government announced on Oct. 19 a plan to lift the quota of medical schools starting from the academic year of 2025.
40 medical schools expressed hopes to matriculate 2000 additional students through a survey on Nov. 9. Moreover, as similar plans of lifting quota for nursing schools are disclosed, the government is encountering fierce conflict with opposition. The plan is currently under discussion while the government is negotiating with various medical associations and patient groups to find a mutual end.
Kim E Yeon, executive board member of public relations and spokesperson of Korean Medical Association (KMA) acknowledged the severity of the collapse of certain areas in the medical field and the gap between rural and metropolitan cities.
“The expectation of longevity in South Korea has risen, and trials go up to 500 million to 2 billion won,” Kim said. “It is just too much for individual doctors to deal with alone.”
On the subject of finance, Kim pointed out the realistic limitations of increasing the quota. She explained that to produce a single doctor, the individual and society would need to invest about 900 million to 1 billion won. The funds for health care would run out if suddenly an overload of doctors started conducting medical practices, especially when South Korea becomes a super- aged society.
Moreover, Kim explained that medical school students receive apprenticeship education, meaning that they learn right beside their professor at a hospital. Increasing the medical school quota can adversely influence the quality of education, not to mention that finding sufficient medical specialists that are skilled enough to train future doctors will not be easy.
Meanwhile, there are concerns over top-scoring high school students all enrolling in medical schools, claiming the “departments of natural sciences and engineering crisis” phenomenon. Professor Yun Jongil from the Department of Nuclear & Quantom Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) mentioned this during an interview with the Seoul Shinmun Daily.
“It is sad that the discussion is only focused on one side,” he said. “I hope for a balanced policy to let talented people enter the basic science area.”
For the solution of problems, Kim suggested improving awareness of doctors who practice life- saving procedures such as emergency surgery and delivery. For rural areas, Kim thinks medical policies should be part of those that encourage economic revival of the countryside.
Similar to Kim, a nursing school student in Seoul who wished to remain anonymous also voiced her opinion on the increase of nursing school quota. She criticized that the root problem of the shortage is because the treatment nurses receive is problematic.
“Nurses face health problems as a result of working three shifts and tending to 15 to 20 patients at a time,” she said.
She explained that if laws ensured a reasonable limit on the number of patients they tend to and a minimum number of how many nurses a hospital should employ, the shortage of nurses will naturally be resolved.
Professor Kim Yoon from the Health Policy and Management Department of Seoul National University College of Medicine made an appearance in KBS to analyze the reason why the government is determined to execute this plan.
Professor Kim first pointed out that statistics prove South Korea is short of doctors in comparison to other countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Also, the escalating revenue for doctors and rural areas have been coping with the specialist shortage problem point out the gravity of the situation.
Professor Kang Yune Sik, a medical school professor at Gyeongsang National University, explained about 120 to 200 new doctors are needed to provide necessary medical service in the South Gyeongsang province.
“Increasing the quota to 200 people may be too much for the time being, but it will be possible after gradually constructing infrastructure,” he said.
Professor Kim maintained that by increasing the number of doctors, not only will it be possible to allocate them into different medical fields and rural areas, but more doctors would naturally lower the revenue and normalize funds. Professor Kim suggested employing at least seven or eight emergency doctors at each hospital so they can take turns working the night shift.
Kim concluded by saying that people working in the medical field are not any different with the other people in society.
“We all want our family and ourselves when we get older to have an affordable and secure medical service,” she said. “I hope citizens can benefit from quality service based on trust.”