D-2 for Second Half Resident Recruitment, No Applicants Even at Big 5 Hospitals

"Unable to Apply Due to Concern Over Professors and Colleagues' Opinions"

Training hospitals are conducting the second half resident recruitment (fall turn) until the 31st, but with only a very small number of applicants, it is expected that there will be a huge disruption in resident hiring.

According to the medical community on the 29th, although the deadline for second half resident recruitment at training hospitals is just two days away, even the 'Big 5' hospitals such as Seoul Asan, Samsung Seoul, Severance, Seoul St. Mary's, and Seoul National University Hospital have no applicants.

In this fall turn, Seoul Asan Hospital is recruiting 131 interns and 309 residents in senior years (2nd to 4th year), Samsung Seoul Hospital is recruiting 123 interns, 97 first-year residents, and 282 senior residents, Severance Hospital is recruiting 146 interns, 158 first-year residents, and 410 senior residents. The Catholic Central Medical Center, which conducts integrated recruitment for eight affiliated hospitals including Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, is recruiting 218 interns, 209 first-year residents, and 590 senior residents, while Seoul National University Hospital is recruiting 159 interns, 7 first-year residents, and 25 senior residents.

Although each hospital announced recruitment on a scale of three digits, there are almost no applicants so far. Among the Big 5 hospitals, three have zero applicants for the second half recruitment, and the other two reportedly have almost no applicants either.

An official from one hospital said, "There are no applicants for the second half resident recruitment yet," adding, "Among professors, there is a movement to boycott participation in resident training, so it seems difficult to apply readily due to watching others' reactions."

These hospitals expect that the number of applicants will remain minimal until the recruitment deadline on the 31st. While there may be a few applicants in Seoul's advanced hospitals like the Big 5 or in some popular departments, the overall atmosphere suggests that not many will apply.

Previously, the Training Environment Evaluation Committee (Suphwi), a deliberative body under the Ministry of Health and Welfare that decides matters related to resident training, set the second half resident recruitment quota at 7,645. The government decided to apply special measures to ensure that those who apply for training in September will not be delayed in obtaining specialist qualifications, but the response from residents has been cynical.

There is also a possibility that each training hospital may refuse to hire residents due to lack of qualifications or competencies at their discretion during the hiring process. According to a survey conducted by the Korean Association of Medical School Professors from the 19th to the 25th among medical school professors nationwide regarding the second half resident recruitment, 50.2% (1,525 out of 3,039) of the participating professors answered that they would not hire any residents in the second half recruitment.

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