"Avoid Collective Repeating in Medical Schools"…Universities Request Postponement of National Medical Exam Registration

Medical Students' Class Boycott Prolongs... "Measures Needed"
If Not Resolved Within 2-3 Months, Long-Term Leave May Become Reality

As the conflict between the government and the medical community over the increase of 2,000 medical school students continues, medical students' refusal to attend classes is also prolonging. Universities have requested the government to postpone the application period for the national medical licensing examination.

According to university sources on the 12th, 40 universities nationwide operating medical schools recently submitted academic operation plans related to the medical-government conflict to the Ministry of Education.

Earlier, the Ministry of Education requested universities in an official document distributed earlier this month to implement ▲flexible academic operation plans ▲measures related to the academic operation of the first year of the pre-medical course ▲measures related to the operation of clinical practice classes ▲inspection and response to forced collective actions. This implies the need to prepare measures to prevent medical students from failing due to prolonged class refusal.

According to the Enforcement Decree of the Higher Education Act, the number of school days per academic year is set to be at least 30 weeks. Therefore, typically, more than 15 weeks of classes per semester must be secured. Unlike other four-year universities, medical schools consist of a total six-year program with two years of pre-medical and four years of medical courses. Afterward, students obtain a general medical license through a national examination and acquire specialist qualifications after one year as an intern (resident trainee) managing inpatients and surgical patients, followed by three to four years as a resident.

Most universities proposed easing regulations related to seasonal semester enrollment, which usually bundles two courses (6 credits) or three courses (9 credits). They plan to enhance the seasonal semester so that students can take as many classes as possible during vacation. While most universities that have started the semester are conducting hybrid on- and offline classes due to concerns about failing students, some have suggested continuing classes entirely online.

Some universities requested the government to postpone the application period for the national medical licensing examination, which is usually held in July to August, for fourth-year medical students. This is because graduation may become uncertain, potentially preventing students from meeting the licensing requirements. The current Medical Service Act stipulates that graduates from medical schools accredited by an evaluation agency or those expected to graduate within six months who pass the national examination can obtain a medical license.

However, proposals such as switching from a semester system to a yearly system, previously discussed, are realistically difficult due to potential fairness issues with students from other majors. Regarding measures like repeatedly delaying the semester start or recognizing attendance simply by downloading online lectures, it is known that controversy over 'special treatment for medical students' has already arisen in the university community.

The Ministry of Education is currently not considering reducing class hours, so collective failure of medical students may become a reality after early August. The Ministry emphasized that it has not required universities to follow any specific method, so each university can find an approach suitable to its circumstances, and plans to relax related regulations as much as possible. However, even if universities prepare measures, if the medical-government conflict is not resolved within two to three months, failure will ultimately be unavoidable.

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