Government: "Medical community first proposed COVID-19 field deployment instead of resident exam"

On the 15th, when 880 new cases of COVID-19 were reported, citizens who visited the temporary screening clinic set up at Seoul Station Plaza were waiting to get tested. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] On the 15th, the government denied reports that it is considering deploying residents and other medical trainees at frontline medical institutions to the COVID-19 treatment sites. These reports were found to be inaccurate amid ongoing discussions between the government and the medical community on various countermeasures as the burden on the healthcare system increases due to the spread of COVID-19.

Son Young-rae, head of the Strategic Planning Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated at a back briefing that "there is no intention to urgently deploy medical trainees, nor have we expressed such a plan." He added, "It is not yet at a stage where forced mobilization of medical personnel is being considered," and "even if medical personnel are mobilized, priority will be given to specialized personnel needed on the frontlines rather than residents."

Recently, rumors circulated within the medical community that the government would draft third- and fourth-year residents to address the shortage of medical staff for COVID-19 patient treatment and testing. Resident organizations, including the Seoul National University Hospital Residents' Council, issued statements criticizing this as an ineffective measure that ignores the reality that many residents are already directly or indirectly involved in COVID-19 frontline work. There were also rumors that residents, who are soon to take their specialist exams, might be exempted from the exams in exchange for participating in COVID-19 patient care.

Following media reports conveying such news, the Ministry of Health and Welfare released a separate explanatory statement denying that "reports claiming residents in their third and fourth years would be compulsorily mobilized for COVID-19 support duties under the condition of exemption from specialist qualification exams are completely false."

The consideration of exempting specialist exams arose during discussions between the government and medical associations such as the Hospital Association. The medical community initially expressed concerns about difficulties in managing hospital medical personnel due to the specialist qualification exams scheduled for January to February next year. It was also reported that the medical community raised the issue that residents cannot hold concurrent positions, making it difficult to deploy them to frontline COVID-19 patient care. The Ministry of Health and Welfare explained that this plan was misunderstood during the process of gathering opinions to resolve these issues.

Exemption from the qualification exam cannot be unilaterally decided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare; it requires consultation with the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences, resident training hospitals, and the residents who will take the exam, and has not yet been finalized. The Ministry stated, "Currently, medical personnel supporting COVID-19 patient care are being voluntarily recruited through the Korean Medical Association, the Korean Nurses Association, and others, with appropriate allowances provided, and are being dispatched to dedicated beds and intensive care units." It added, "Private medical personnel will be voluntarily recruited through the Medical Association's 'Disaster Medical Support Team'."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.