70% of Local Examinees Hope to Practice Medicine Locally After Graduating from Regional Medical Schools

by Jeong Donghoon

Published 11 Aug.2024 11:31(KST)

On the 17th of last month, examinees and parents listened to the medical school entrance exam explanation by the presenter at the university entrance exam briefing hosted by Eunpyeong District Office, held at Seonjeong High School in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

A significant number of examinees living outside the metropolitan area who wish to enter medical school hope to work as doctors in their local regions after graduating from regional medical schools. In contrast, only 7% of examinees residing in the metropolitan area expressed a desire to work locally even if they graduate from a regional medical school.

Jongno Academy announced on the 11th that an online survey conducted from the 31st of last month to the 8th of this month targeting 1,715 examinees preparing for medical school admission revealed these findings.

First, regarding the preference for medical schools among students outside the metropolitan area, 63.4% preferred the regional talent admission track at local medical schools, while 34.4% preferred medical schools in the metropolitan area. Among students from the metropolitan area, including Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, 70.5% responded that they intended to apply for early admission to regional medical schools, while 29.5% said they did not intend to apply.

Opinions were divided on the region where they wished to work after graduation.

Regional students chose the local area as the place where they want to work as doctors after graduating from regional medical schools at a rate of 68.3%, while 28.8% chose the Seoul area, and 2.9% chose the Gyeongin area. In contrast, 63.8% of students from Seoul and the Gyeongin area said they want to work in the Seoul area, and 29.1% in the Gyeongin area even if they graduate from regional medical schools. Only 7.1% preferred the local area.

Regarding the expansion of medical school admission quotas, 59.6% of examinees thought that the quality of education would decline in the future (40.8% said decline, 18.8% said significant decline), while 35.4% thought it would maintain the current level.

Concerning the Korea Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation’s (KIMEE) decision to strengthen evaluations for universities with more than a 10% increase in medical school admission quotas, 53.0% expressed concern that these universities and examinees might suffer disadvantages (16.0% very concerned + 37.0% concerned), while 23.5% said it would have no impact.

However, when asked whether these potential disadvantages changed their intention to apply to medical schools, 98.4% responded that there was no change. Regarding medical school preferences by region, students from Seoul and the Gyeongin area preferred Seoul National University at 44.9%, Yonsei University at 18.2%, Sungkyunkwan University at 7.4%, Catholic University at 4.6%, and Korea University at 4.0%, in that order.

In the Daegu-Gyeongbuk area, Kyungpook National University was preferred by 42.9%, in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam area, Pusan National University by 34.8%, and in the Honam area, Chonnam National University by 37.0%. However, in the Chungcheong, Gangwon, and Jeju areas, Seoul National University had the highest preference rates.

Jongno Academy analyzed, "While students from local areas show a high preference for the regional talent admission track, it appears that most local students also have metropolitan medical schools in mind when looking at individual universities. The phenomenon of movement due to overlapping admissions between metropolitan and local areas is expected to continue to be significant."