[News Terms] Training 'Physician Scientists' as Urgently as 'Medical School Expansion'

As the government is pushing to increase the number of medical school admissions, Seoul National University announced that it will establish a new 'Department of Medical Science' to train 'physician-scientists' starting next year. They have applied to the Ministry of Health and Welfare to increase the medical school admission quota from the current 135 to 150 students, and separately allocate 50 undergraduate spots for the Department of Medical Science.

A physician-scientist refers to a medical doctor and scientist who possesses knowledge and experience in both clinical and engineering fields. In other words, although they hold a medical license, they are experts who do not focus on patient care but instead demonstrate convergence research capabilities by integrating medicine and science technology to develop new medical technologies, drugs, and advanced medical equipment. Recently, as the healthcare sector utilizing scientific technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data has grown, the demand for physician-scientists has also been increasing. However, currently, physician-scientists in South Korea account for less than 1% of all doctors, which remains very low.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) established a Graduate School of Medical Science in 2004 and has produced 184 physician-scientists to date. In September last year, KAIST declared its intention to establish a Graduate School of Science, Technology, and Medicine (STMG) to train physician-scientists. They plan to implement a mandatory 4-year master's program followed by an additional 4-year doctoral program to systematically cultivate engineering-based medical personnel. KAIST had previously attempted to establish a medical school for training physician-scientists but was blocked by opposition from existing doctors.

Seoul National University has also been promoting a physician-scientist training project centered on the College of Medicine’s Physician-Scientist Training Group since 2008, focusing on basic science research, but this did not lead to the establishment of an undergraduate program. The newly created Department of Medical Science plans to educate students alongside those from the College of Engineering, College of Pharmacy, and the School of Advanced Convergence Science to foster a sense of convergence and actively encourage them to remain as excellent research personnel rather than clinical doctors. To train physician-scientists, they plan to build the 'Seoul National University Convergent Biomedical Engineering Education and Research Building,' a joint project between the medical and engineering colleges on the Gwanak campus, and also establish a medical science research hub in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province.

Advanced countries such as the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland have been systematically training physician-scientists since the 1970s. In the U.S., where 3.7% of all medical students pursue the path of physician-scientists, the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) provides scholarships to students and research funding after they become residents or professors. The physician-scientist training program jointly operated by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), called the Health Sciences and Technology (HST) program, has produced physician-scientists who lead the world’s top-level U.S. medical industry. The United Kingdom also supports clinicians through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)’s Clinical Lectureship (CL) program, allowing them to focus on research for up to four years, dedicating half of their time annually to research.