Approximately 8,000 residents who left the hospital due to conflicts in the medical assembly for 1 year and 7 months have returned in the latter half of this year. Popular subjects known as "dermatology, ophthalmology, and plastic surgery" have seen most residents return. However, the return rate for essential medical services appears low.
According to a Health and Welfare Ministry announcement on the 2nd, 7,984 out of 13,498 residents (interns and residents) recruited for the latter half of the year were selected, which is 59.1%, and they have started working at training hospitals nationwide since the previous day. By year, 52% of interns and 62.1% of residents have returned. Residents graduate from medical school and undergo 1 year of internship and 3 to 4 years of residency by specialty.
When combining the residents who have returned this time with those already working at training hospitals, the total number of residents is 10,305. This represents a 76.2% recovery compared to the 13,531 candidates as of March last year. The remainder is believed to have already secured employment at general hospitals or joined the military.
The medical community expects that with the return of the residents, surgeries that had been delayed can proceed normally. Professors who have been managing outpatient services, surgeries, and on-call duties will also see some relief. However, regional and essential medical service gaps remain.
The selection rate compared to the number of recruited residents is 63% in the capital area and 53.5% in non-capital areas. Popular specialties like ophthalmology (91.9%), dermatology (89.9%), and plastic surgery (89.4%) have higher return rates, while cardiothoracic surgery (21.9%), pediatrics (13.4%), surgery (36.8%), and emergency medicine (42.1%) have low return rates. Essential medical services are critical for public life, but high work intensity and lawsuit burdens create reluctance.
Minister Jeong Eun-kyung noted, "The necessity to strengthen regional, essential, and public medical services has been reaffirmed" and stated, "We will implement the related policies without delay."