Jeonnam Province Strives to Minimize Medical Gaps... Deploys 267 'Public Health Doctors'

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[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province is making every effort to minimize medical service gaps.

Jeonnam Province (Governor Kim Young-rok) announced on the 7th that it has completed the placement of 267 newly appointed public health doctors engaged in public health duties in medically underserved areas such as rural fishing villages, across 232 institutions within the province.

To respond to COVID-19, the province recently expedited the appointment of 136 medical public health doctors among the new appointees and temporarily deployed them to frontline sites to perform quarantine duties such as patient treatment and staffing screening clinics.

Since 2009, with the establishment of medical graduate schools and an increase in military service exemptions and female students, the total number of doctors fulfilling military medical duties has been decreasing annually. Following the nationwide trend of a decline in newly enlisted public health doctors, Jeonnam Province saw a reduction of 7 doctors this year.

Accordingly, priority was given to placement in health centers and other health institutions in medically underserved areas, and vacancies caused by service completion or transfers to other provinces were filled.

Public health doctors in the province work at health institutions, hospital ships, and emergency medical institutions.

The number of personnel assigned by institution is as follows: ▲ 575 (90%) at 232 health institutions in the province (285 medical doctors, 97 dentists, 193 Korean medicine doctors) ▲ 15 medical doctors at 3 regional medical centers ▲ 9 personnel (5 medical doctors, 2 dentists, 2 Korean medicine doctors) at institutions performing public medical policies such as hospital ships and epidemiological investigators ▲ 13 Korean medicine doctors at 13 public hospitals ▲ 26 medical doctors at regional emergency medical institutions.

An Byung-ok, Director of Health and Welfare at Jeonnam Province, said, “We appreciate the hard work of public health doctors who have been performing quarantine duties on the front lines to prevent the recent spread of COVID-19,” and added, “In Jeonnam, where many medically underserved areas exist, the role of public health doctors is very important, so we ask them to continue to offer their medical skills with love and a spirit of service.”