Major hospitals in Seoul fail to fill trainee doctor positions

The situation the medical community feared is unfolding. The recruitment of trainee doctors for the second half of the year, conducted by each training institution, is nearing completion, but the application rate is disappointing.

Even large training hospitals in Seoul have reportedly failed to avoid a shortage of applicants.

The supply of new doctors has dried up, and a significant number of existing trainee doctors have left to become military doctors or public health doctors, reducing the pool of applicants. Adding to the shortage are medical residents who are not returning, raising serious concerns that even if training resumes in September, the number of trainee doctors will be only half of the previous level.

According to a survey of 10 out of 12 tertiary general hospitals that completed their second-half resident recruitment by Tuesday, it was difficult to find any that had filled all their positions. Even some of the Big Five hospitals, such as Samsung Medical Center and Asan Medical Center, were unable to fill their quotas.

Application rates at AMC and SMC are 80%, and Catholic Medical Center declines to disclose data

Asan Medical Center (AMC) announced on Tuesday that the application rate for the second half of the year remained at around 70-80 percent. The total number of available positions was 517, comprising 118 interns, 121 first-year residents, and 278 senior residents. AMC only disclosed the approximate application rate and stated that it has no plans to announce the final recruitment results, including the number of applicants per department, as in previous years.

The Catholic University of Korea Catholic Medical Center also closed its recruitment on the same day but did not disclose the application rate. Catholic Medical Center jointly recruits residents from its eight affiliated hospitals, including Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, one of the Big Five hospitals, and provides integrated training. The total number of positions available this time is 913 -- 192 interns, 201 first-year residents, and 520 senior residents.

Chungnam National University Hospital, which also closed its recruitment on the same day, has decided not to disclose the results, but it is known that the number of applicants fell short of the quota. The hospital's recruitment quota was 296 -- 78 interns, 78 first-year residents, and 140 senior residents.

Samsung Medical Center (SMC) is reportedly similar to AMC in terms of application rates. SMC announced that it would recruit a total of 430 residents by Monday. The total comprises 77 interns, 106 first-year residents, and 247 senior residents.

Hanyang University Hospital closed its internship recruitment on Monday, with only 35 applicants for 71 positions. The application rate was 49.3 percent. Resident recruitment will continue until next Tuesday, with 40 first-year residents and 121 senior residents to be selected.

Inha University Hospital, which closed its recruitment last Friday, did not disclose the application rate and stated, “We were unable to fill the quota for both interns and residents.” The total quota for Inha University Hospital's specialist recruitment is 299 -- 39 interns, 78 first-year residents, and 182 senior residents.

Gachon University GIL Medical Center also failed to meet its quota. The hospital announced that it would recruit 51 interns, 53 first-year residents, and 113 senior residents by Monday, but it did not fill the quota. It was known that the number of applicants for interns was less than half of the quota.

Kyungpook National University's residency program application rate stands at 57.5%, and Samsung Changwon extends the recruitment period

AMC and SMC show relatively high application rates. Provincial tertiary general hospitals saw application rates of around 50 percent, with fewer residents returning compared to the Seoul metro region.

Kyungpook National University Hospital received applications from only 183 out of 318 residency positions, representing a 57.5 percent application rate. As of the application deadline on Monday, 45 out of 98 interns (45.9 percent), 56 out of 82 first-year residents (68.3 percent), and 82 out of 138 senior residents (59.4 percent) applied. Kyungpook National University Hospital has extended the internship recruitment period by two days until Wednesday and plans to conduct additional recruitment for residents.

“In the case of internal medicine, there are already quite a few residents who have enlisted, so the number of those returning this time is small,” a hospital official said. “The situation is similar in obstetrics and gynecology and surgery.”

Kyungbuk National University Chilgok Hospital announced that it would recruit 41 residents, but only 15 (36.6 percent) applied. The applicants included five first-year residents and ten senior residents. By department, the breakdown is as follows: Neurology -- one person each from years one to four, totaling four people; Neurosurgery -- one person in year two; Obstetrics and Gynecology-- two people in year two and one person in year four; Radiology -- three people in year one and one person in year two; Emergency Medicine -- one person each from years one to three, totaling three people.

Samsung Changwon Hospital has extended its recruitment period. Originally scheduled to close recruitment on Monday, Samsung Changwon Hospital has extended the deadline by two days, now accepting applications for 25 interns and 77 residents until the 20th. A representative from Samsung Changwon Hospital stated, “We must register the number of residents to be recruited with the Training Environment Evaluation Committee by next Friday. We plan to recruit as many residents as possible by then.”