SEOUL – South Korea’s medical teachers said they would reduce their practice hours from Monday to support trainee doctors who have been on strike for more than a month following a government plan to increase admissions to medical schools. medicine.
“It is clear that increasing admissions to medical schools will not only ruin the teaching of medical schools, but also lead to the collapse of our country’s health care system,” Kim Chang-soo told reporters, president of the Korea Medical Teachers Association.
He said professors would begin reducing outpatient treatment to focus on emergency and seriously ill patients, while some would tender their resignations.
The trainee doctors’ strike over a plan to increase the number of students admitted to medical schools each year from 2025 has forced several hospitals to turn away patients and delay procedures.
The government says the plan is vital to address the shortage of doctors in one of the world’s most aging societies, but critics have said authorities should first focus on improving working conditions for doctors. trainee doctors.
Trainee doctors have been on strike since February 20 and President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has made health care reform one of his signature policy initiatives, has sworn do not give up on the implementation of the admission plan.
The government has also threatened to suspend the licenses of doctors who quit their jobs, but on Sunday Yoon appeared to seek a more conciliatory approach and urged Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to seek “flexible measures” to deal with the suspension.
Yoon’s office said he had also ordered the prime minister to form a “constructive advisory body” to speak with all medical professionals.
According to a Gallup poll released March 15, 38% of respondents said the government is doing a good job dealing with doctors’ backlash and medical vacuum amid the doctors’ strike, while 49% said “this was not a good job.” – Reuters