"Government Takes Hardline on Using PA Nurses During Resident Strikes... Medical Community Calls It a Strategy for the General Election"

Vice Minister of Health "Do not use patients as tools"
KMA "No negotiation... Doctors are angry and agitated"

The medical community continues to engage in a strong standoff against the government's plan to increase medical school admission quotas. Although residents have postponed their strike, tensions are escalating, with the Korean Pediatric Society filing a complaint with the police against the Minister and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare. Park Min-su, the Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, stated that if residents strike in opposition to the increase in medical school quotas, the government will consider fully expanding telemedicine and utilizing Physician Assistant (PA) nurses.

On the 15th, Vice Minister Park said on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" program, "If residents strike and hospital functions are disrupted, we will look for ways to better utilize existing personnel," adding, "We will fully expand telemedicine and ensure that PA support staff can play a more active role." He further explained, "We have prepared all measures, including using military hospitals for emergency room services, utilizing public medical institutions for emergency response, and having existing staff extend their working hours to minimize any disruption to medical care."

Regarding some residents' attempts to avoid the government's order to reject resignation letters by resigning individually instead of striking collectively, he pointed out, "If resignations are premeditated and occur consecutively, causing disruption to hospital operations, it can be considered collective action," and added, "Hospitals should prohibit acceptance of resignation letters if they judge the action to be collective." Vice Minister Park expressed his belief that "the fundamental mission of medical professionals is to protect public health and save lives," and urged, "The reason doctors exist is for their patients, so I hope there will be no more actions that use patients as tools to enforce certain agendas."

Medical staff are moving at a university hospital in Seoul on the 14th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the other hand, Park Myung-ha, Chair of the Emergency Response Committee of the Korean Medical Association, stated on BBS Radio's "Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal" that "the public has been misled by false propaganda claiming that the government has sufficiently negotiated and reached an agreement with the medical community," and argued, "In an era of population decline, a large increase in medical school quotas could actually create medical vacancies and a medical cliff, leading to greater side effects." He acknowledged that "many citizens support increasing medical school quotas, but as professionals responsible for healthcare, we must communicate the problems," and explained, "There is growing public opinion that this is a political scheme aimed at changing the situation ahead of the general election."

Regarding the expected protest actions by residents, such as a general strike or individual resignations in opposition to the increase in medical school quotas, he said, "Angry young residents are expressing their intense emotions, but through the Emergency Response Committee's position, we are moderating the level of response," adding, "Our committee has conveyed that restraining the intense reactions of residents and medical students and preparing legal responses will minimize damage, and this has been accepted." He also noted that because the government unilaterally and arbitrarily announced an increase of 2,000 medical school quotas, not only young doctors such as medical students and residents but all unrelated doctors are angry and agitated. He said, "We are preparing a roadmap for ways to appeal to the public."