Medical Association and KAMC Participate in Ruling and Opposition Medical Policy Talks... Residents and Medical Students "Concerned About Rush Agreement"

Residents "No Change in Government Position, Only Being Exploited"
Medical Students "Everyone Completely Opposes"

Medical academic organizations, the Korean Medical Association and the Korean Association of Medical Colleges and Medical Schools (KAMC), have decided to participate in the ruling and opposition parties' medical policy council, sparking strong opposition from resigned residents and medical students. Rather than finding a solution to the ongoing medical policy conflict since February, there are concerns that disappointing outcomes such as rushed agreements may arise again, driven by a government that has not changed its stance on issues like increasing medical school quotas.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

A resident A who resigned from a training hospital in a region said, "There is a general atmosphere of confusion due to the sudden announcement of (the Korean Medical Association's) participation," adding, "Most of the resigned residents around me are worried that a forced agreement might occur within the council since the government's position has not changed."

Resident B, who resigned from a training hospital in Seoul, also said, "Everyone is criticizing (the association)." Another resigned resident C said, "There is strong opposition even within the Korean Medical Association, not to mention the resigned residents," and added, "There are even sarcastic criticisms directed at the ruling and opposition parties' medical policy council."

Earlier, the Korean Medical Association and KAMC issued a statement announcing their intention to participate in the ruling and opposition parties' medical policy council. They explained their participation by stating, "We clearly oppose the government's unilateral policy implementation that has been ongoing and fully support the sincere intentions of young doctors who want to provide proper medical care," but also said, "When considering the health of the public and patients as the top priority, we can no longer overlook the collapse of Korean healthcare caused by wrong policy decisions."

Medical students are also expressing dissatisfaction. Medical student D from a Seoul-based medical school, who submitted a leave of absence, criticized, "Everyone is completely opposed. This is a situation we did not expect at all."

On the online community for doctors and medical students, Medistaff's 'Medical Students Board,' critical posts continue, such as "The KMA (Korean Medical Association) and those guys (Korean Medical Association and KAMC) are ultimately the same," "The only reason is that (professors) have to do on-call duty without support funds next year," and "They complain about on-call duty but stay quiet because they get paid a lot, and now that it's hard again..."

Meanwhile, the Korean Medical Association, a doctors' organization, stated that it will not participate in the ruling and opposition parties' medical policy council but respects the actions of the two organizations. In a statement released that day, the KMA said, "We clearly state that we will not participate in the council at this point," and added, "We respect the decisions of the two organizations and ask them to exercise caution so that the opinions of the entire medical community can be well represented."