Residents Stop Collective Strike and Return to Work... Medical Students Remain a Variable

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] Residents who had continued an indefinite collective strike opposing the expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of public medical schools are gradually returning to work on the morning of the 8th.

According to Samsung Seoul Hospital on this day, as the residents decided to return to work yesterday, COVID-19 PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests are currently being conducted on them. The residents plan to return to clinical practice only after receiving a negative COVID-19 test result due to concerns about infection.

Seoul Asan Medical Center began the residents' return to the field from 7 a.m. this morning. At Seoul National University Hospital and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, all residents also decided to return to work, restoring normal medical operations from this morning.

However, a significant number of medical students are refusing to take the practical portion of the national medical licensing examination, which began today, posing a variable factor. Of the total 3,172 candidates for the practical exam, only 446, or 14%, took the test, marking the smallest scale in history.

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