Hospital "Priority Appointment Without Contract Following Government Guidelines"
Possibility of Adjusting Training Period According to Specialist Training Regulations Raised
As almost none of the successful candidates for the first half-year interns (residents in training) have registered for appointment, creating a gap in the smoothly running physician training system, the gap caused by the non-contracting of 'prospective residents' who are supposed to start their first year of training this year is expected to be relatively small. Although most prospective residents who completed their internship training at the end of February have not contracted with hospitals, the government and training hospitals anticipate that there will be little delay in training if they return.
According to the medical community on the 9th, although these individuals did not sign resident appointment contracts with hospitals, most training hospitals are known to have processed their appointments. A representative from a major hospital stated, "The government has issued a legal interpretation that even if the contract was not signed, the fact of passing the resident exam means they must report to work," adding, "Since the contract signing period was after the resident resignation incident, not many have signed, but appointments have been issued. From the hospital's perspective, these individuals are currently considered to be absent without leave."
In fact, the government issued a 'medical service maintenance order' on February 27 targeting those scheduled to be first-year residents. As a result, some have filed lawsuits against hospital officials, claiming they received appointment notices despite not signing resident contracts. Ryu Okhada, former representative of interns at the Catholic Central Medical Center, said on the 4th of last month, "After consulting with a lawyer, I will file a complaint against the Training Education Department for aiding and abetting abuse of authority and obstruction of business," adding, "My intern contract ended on February 29. I did not sign a resident contract afterward. How can I be appointed without a contract?" Another resigning resident said, "There is a mood of standing up against what is being called an absurd forced contract."
The annual apprentice-style system of intern and resident contracts and training, which operated like clockwork from March to the following February, has already been compromised due to an intern registration rate below 10%. However, since first-year residents have been 'appointed' by training hospitals, it is expected that the impact will be minimal if they return.
For new interns who gave up registration earlier, they can only start training in the second half of the year beginning in September or from March next year. Even if interns return in the second half of this year, the training periods for residents will be pushed back consecutively, making it impossible to maintain the normal specialist output schedule for several years. In contrast, first-year residents may not experience delays in their training schedule upon return.
According to Article 5 of the Specialist Training Regulations, if it is necessary to vary the training period depending on the specialty, the Ministry of Health and Welfare may extend or shorten the resident's training period as prescribed by ministerial decree. Additionally, if a resident is unable to train for part of the training year due to unavoidable reasons such as leave or absence, the training year may be adjusted by adding a period equivalent to the time not trained. The subjects, methods, and duration of additional training are determined by ministerial decree.
Jeong Hye-seung, lead attorney at the law firm Banwoo, explained, "It is not impossible to prevent delays in residents' training completion by adjusting the training period." However, she added, "Since this is not a typical situation like military service or childbirth, a different approach from the usual methods will need to be devised."
However, specific matters related to their training and contracts after returning are expected to depend entirely on the Ministry of Health and Welfare's decisions. A representative from one of the Big 5 hospitals said, "We must follow the Ministry's guidelines, so the hospital cannot decide on its own." Another hospital official said, "It seems that this will be handled according to government standards rather than by individual hospitals. We need to wait for the government guidelines to know for sure."
Meanwhile, there is also a possibility that first-year residents may raise legal disputes over being appointed against their will. Kim Kwang-hoon, head labor attorney at Shin Young Labor Law Firm, said, "There is the freedom to choose not to work where one does not want to, so this could be an issue under labor law," but added, "Since there may be conflicts with the Medical Service Act and government guidelines, this needs to be examined comprehensively." Choi Hye-in, labor attorney at Workplace Bullying 119, said, "In general labor relations, a contract can be considered valid even without a written contract if there is a verbal agreement," but added, "Residents are in a special situation, so it is necessary to examine the legal aspects precisely."
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