Medical students applying for essential departments nosedive after increasing admissions

The government's plan to increase the enrollment quota of medical schools and its package of essential medical care policies have made medical students more reluctant to apply for essential medicine departments, a survey showed.

According to the Korea Medical Student Association (KMSA), only 8.28 percent of 14,676 medical students who responded to an online survey from May 13 to 17 said they would apply for essential medical care departments. That compared with the 70.12 percent application rate before the government pushed to increase the medical school enrollment quota and essential medical care policy package.

The survey asked whether the students would apply for "internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and adolescence, emergency medicine, and cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, categorizing them as “essential medical specialties.”

However, the number of respondents who would not apply for these specialties jumped to 72.57 percent.

About 80 percent of the 18,348 medical and pre-medical students affiliated with KMSA participated in the survey. Of those who responded, 98.73 percent said they submitted a leave of absence or refused to take classes. Some 18,320 medical students, or 97.26 percent of all medical students, have submitted a leave of absence or are not attending classes.

Of those, 3,163 are freshmen, and 15,157 are in their second to fourth years.

The number of medical students who believe that internships and other training courses are essential has also plunged from 87.99 percent to 24.89 percent. On the other hand, 48.41 percent disagreed that specialty training is necessary.

The number of respondents who would rather treat patients abroad than in Korea has increased. Before the government policy announcement, 93.77 percent of medical students said they planned to engage in clinical activities, including treating patients, in Korea, but that number dropped to 26.28 percent after the policy announcement. In contrast, the number of respondents who said they would treat patients overseas increased from 1.42 percent to 24.25 percent.

Asked about the government's policy to increase the number of medical school students, 98.81 percent chose "complete withdrawal and re-discussion from the ground up.” Only 1.16 percent agreed with the medical school admission increase by 1,506 that universities have voluntarily agreed to, and only 0.03 percent said they would accept an increase of 2,000 seats as pushed by the government.

Almost all (99.59 percent) opposed the government's essential healthcare policy package. The main reason for their opposition was that it was a misguided policy that did not consider the healthcare system's complexity and organic nature.

Some 97.25 percent agreed with the statement, "If implemented, the essential healthcare policy package will lead to a decline in quality and distortion of the healthcare system.” Despite the current political situation, 96.64 percent agreed that “the government’s unilateral healthcare policy-making process has led to a healthcare crisis.”

The medical students said they would decide what to do next.

Some 96.24 percent said that they were the ones who should decide what to do next in taking a leave of absence. In addition, more than 99 percent supported the eight major demands proposed by KMSA.

"Students are frustrated with the incumbent government's healthcare policies and expectations. Realistic solutions to the healthcare crisis need to be found, and discussions must begin at the source to ensure that the voices of the medical community are heard," the association said. “Embrace the eight demands students have put forward as solutions to misguided policies.”