Children are becoming increasingly precious... 90% of the 10-year decline in residents are in Pediatrics

Essential Medical Residents Decreased by 88% in Pediatrics Over 10 Years
"Increasing Medical School Quotas Without Essential Medical Measures Is Meaningless"

The number of 'residents'?medical school graduates undergoing internship and residency training to become specialists in essential medical fields?has decreased by 610 over the past 10 years. Among them, 88% were pediatric residents, highlighting the urgent need for government measures to secure residents in essential specialties ahead of the announced expansion of medical school quotas.

According to the 'Current Status of Residents by Specialty for Years 1 to 4' received on the 31st by Shin Hyun-young, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of residents in five essential medical specialties?surgery, thoracic surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, and pediatrics?decreased by 24.0%, from 2,543 in 2014 to 1,933 in 2023.

The decline was most pronounced in pediatrics. Of the 610 residents lost in essential medical specialties over the past decade, 87.9% (536) were pediatric residents. Last year, there were 304 pediatric residents, less than half of the 840 in 2014. By region, the largest decrease was in the Seoul metropolitan area with 343 fewer residents, followed by Yeongnam (105), Honam (50), Chungcheong (29), Gangwon (7), and Jeju (2).

The situation is similarly unfavorable in surgery. The number of surgical residents dropped by 29.4% (176), from 599 last year to 423 this year. In contrast, thoracic surgery increased by 9 residents from 99 to 108, obstetrics and gynecology rose by 42 from 441 to 483, and emergency medicine grew by 51 from 564 to 615.

As the shortage of pediatric residents becomes a reality, calls are growing for the government to present groundbreaking measures to revive essential medical fields alongside the expansion of medical school quotas. Earlier, the government announced the 'Pediatric Medical System Improvement Plan' in February last year to address the shortage of pediatricians, but when it failed to yield significant results, additional supplementary measures were introduced in September. The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that they would provide a monthly training support allowance of 1 million KRW to pediatric residents and pediatric specialists, and double the fees for nighttime pediatric care. However, the recruitment rate for first-year pediatric residents in the first half of this year was only 26.2%, indicating an urgent need for further measures. The recruitment rate for residents outside the metropolitan area was even lower at 11.8%.

Assembly member Shin Hyun-young warned, "Over the past decade, the sharp decline in pediatric residents and the resulting medical crises such as 'pediatric open runs' have caused the public to bear the full brunt of the suffering. Expanding medical school quotas without securing doctors for regional and essential medical care will render the policy ineffective."

Meanwhile, the government plans to announce a comprehensive plan next month to save the collapsing regional essential medical services. Regarding the 'scale of medical school quota increases,' it is expected to be disclosed separately around the Lunar New Year holiday after consultations with the Korean Medical Association. The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that the plan includes measures to attract doctors to essential medical fields to address recent gaps such as repeated emergency room transfers and 'pediatric open runs,' including increased investment such as fee adjustments, rationalization of medical malpractice handling systems, restructuring of hospital staffing, and establishment of a cooperative medical delivery system.