Trainee doctors remain unmoved despite government's lifting of return-to-work order

The government has softened its position toward the medical community by lifting the return-to-work order for resigned trainee doctors and allowing hospitals to accept resignations letters -- to urge them to return to work.

However, medical interns and residents largely seemed unperturbed.

Some said they would “wait and see,” not deciding whether to return or resign, while others said they would resign early and seek a job. Yet others pointed out that the government’s latest announcement showed no changes in its push to increase medical school enrollment quota or its essential care policy package.

In a briefing on Tuesday, the government said it would withdraw all orders prohibiting hospitals from accepting trainee doctors’ resignations, orders to return to work, and orders to maintain practice to prevent medical care disruptions. 

It also vowed not to punish junior doctors if they return to work, promising to provide support for interns and residents returning to their training hospitals.

In response, most trainee doctors said they would not decide on their next move immediately, citing the difficulty of knowing the government's intentions behind its latest proposal.

“It's what we expected. Most of us thought that the government would rescind the ban on accepting resignation letters,” said a former emergency medicine trainee doctor. “I don't feel that the government is sincere about this announcement, so there is no change in my position (to resign).”

Another resigning emergency medicine resident said he would “wait and see” but added that if the government had accepted their resignation letters earlier, things would not have aggravated like now.

“At the very least, I think Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Park Min-soo should take some responsibility for the medical crisis over the past three months,” she said.

“It is difficult to decide to return to work unless someone takes responsibility for the recent events,” she said. “The government has made various changes, but it’s easier said than done. They don't create a council or anything like that but just say, 'Trust the government.’ It's like someone slapped you on the face and said, ‘Let's pretend it never happened.’”

Others pointed out that all people involved in this medical turmoil are bent only on trainee doctors’ resignation or return to work while overlooking the fact that healthcare policies, including increasing medical school admissions and an essential healthcare policy package, have not changed.

“There hasn't been much change in my intention to resign. I don't see any other changes among my colleagues. I resigned in the first place because of the medical school admission increase and the essential healthcare policy package. Still, it seems like the discussion has completely shifted to resignation,” a former trainee dermatologist said. “Nothing has changed, and nothing has been gained. If we were to return to work like this, there was no reason to leave there in the first place.”

A trainee psychiatrist also said, “I'm going to wait and see because nothing has changed in the essential healthcare policy package or the increase in medical school admissions. I don't understand why they are suddenly lifting the ban on accepting resignations now.”.

Some doctors said they decided to resign immediately after the government's announcement and started looking for jobs in neighborhood clinics. A few are reportedly preparing lawsuits against hospitals for not accepting their resignations, preventing them from working elsewhere.

“I know that each hospital department is surveying resignation. In our department, everyone is planning to resign,” said a former intern at a university hospital in Daejeon. “There's no vibe around here to come back. ‘Everyone is thinking, ’I need to find a job locally and quickly.’”

The former intern continued, “I think this is the beginning. If the government's plan works, the current situation will be maintained and will go through a rough patch. If the doctors do not return, the hospitals’ chain bankruptcy will become a reality. I heard some doctors are also preparing a suit against the hospital for not accepting their resignation letters, so they could not work.