President Yoon Seok-yeol speaks at a cabinet meeting held at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 6th. President Yoon said, “In order to protect the health and lives of the people, expanding the doctor workforce is a task of the times that cannot be delayed further.”/Office of the President
The increase of 2,000 medical school students announced by the government on the 6th is more than initially expected. This is because it is believed that the root cause of the collapse of the current essential local medical system, to the extent that pediatric departments are closing one after another and pregnant women in rural areas travel 2 to 3 hours to visit obstetricians and gynecologists, is the ‘lack of doctors.’
The government predicts that there will be a shortage of 15,000 doctors in the country by 2035. Even now, there are 5,000 fewer doctors practicing in medically underserved areas in rural areas compared to the national average. In addition, the demand for medical care is rapidly increasing due to rapid aging, and the government analysis predicts that at least 10,000 more people will need it 10 years from now.
However, even if we increase the number of medical students from next year’s entrance exam, it will take at least 6 years (general doctors) or as long as 10 years (specialists) for them to appear in the medical field. Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong said in a briefing on this day, “If we increase the number of medical school students by 2,000 starting next year, (general doctors will be in the field) starting in 2031,” he added, “Through this, we hope to increase the number of doctors by 10,000 out of the 15,000 additional doctors required by 2035.” “He said. This means that more than 2,000 more medical students will need to be recruited each year for at least five years starting in 2025.
The government says that compared to other major countries, the number of doctors in our country is severely lacking. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as of 2021, the number of clinical doctors per 1,000 people in Korea is 2.6. Excluding Oriental medicine doctors, the number drops to 2.1. It ranks last, below the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 3.7. As of 2021, the number of domestic medical school graduates is 7.3 per 100,000 population, which is half of the OECD average of 14. On the other hand, salaries are among the highest in OECD countries. The annual salary of doctors at hospitals and clinics is $192,749 (about 255.6 million won) as of 2020. The OECD average is $118,667, which is 60% of our level. A government official said, “The medical school quota has been limited to 3,058 students for 19 years, but this is a phenomenon that is happening as the demand for doctors is rapidly increasing due to the aging population.”
Graphics = Baek Hyung-seon
The government believes that essential medical fields directly related to patients’ lives, such as internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and emergency medicine, as well as local hospitals, have been hit hard due to a shortage of doctors. A government official said, “Due to a shortage of supply, doctors are guaranteed a high income no matter what they do,” and added, “There is no incentive to perform essential medical care that is risky and has little reward.” Doctors are leaving rural areas and flocking to the metropolitan area because they can earn high income anywhere.
As a result of resident recruitment in the first half of this year, the application rate for pediatrics, one of the essential medical fields, was only 26%. Each hospital needed 205 people, but only 53 applied. Other essential medical fields such as cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and surgery were also inadequate. On the other hand, popular departments such as psychiatry, ophthalmology, and plastic surgery had nearly double the number of applicants.
Fat is more serious. As of 2022, the number of doctors per 1,000 people in Seoul is 3, but in provincial areas it is half, or 1.6. Even if a high salary is offered, there is no intention to come. A general hospital in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, recruited three cardiologists with an annual salary of 1 billion won in April last year, but there were no applicants. The Sancheong-gun Health and Medical Center in Gyeongsangnam-do hired an internal medicine specialist and began regular treatment only in May of last year, one year after making five public announcements with an annual salary of 360 million won.
The issue of aging is also cited as a reason for expanding the number of medical school students by 2,000. Next year, Korea will enter a super-aging society, with the elderly exceeding 20% of the total population. Medical demand is bound to increase rapidly. The UK, which has a population almost similar to that of Korea, recruited a total of 8,639 students from 42 medical schools across the country in preparation for an aging population in 2020. It is about three times the number of students at domestic medical schools. Germany, which has a slightly larger population than us, had 9,458 medical school seats in the same year. Australia’s medical school has a total number of 3,800 students, which is similar to Korea’s, but its population is half of ours.
2024-02-06 12:47:00
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