Guilt, Despair, and Financial Hardship 'Triple Burden'
Possibility Raised for Discharged Public Health Doctors and Military Medical Officers to Return
Number of Residents Considering Return May Increase
As the collective resignation of residents continues for the second month due to medical conflicts, there is growing speculation within and outside the medical community that some residents may return in May. This is because a return atmosphere is being observed among fellows (doctors who have completed their specialist training and are undergoing further sub-specialty training) at major large hospitals, including the 'Big 5'. Additionally, the so-called 'May Turn,' referring to residents who have completed their military service, is also considered a significant variable in the residents' return.
Amid ongoing collective resignations of residents due to medical conflicts for the second consecutive month, there is a possibility raised within and outside the medical community that some residents may return in May. [Photo by Yonhap News]
On the 17th, Bundang Seoul National University Hospital closed its recruitment announcement for the '2024 Clinical Instructor (Fellow) 4th Additional Hiring' at 10 a.m. that day. This announcement had been open since 10 a.m. on the 11th. A total of 60 candidates were selected across 13 departments, including Internal Medicine, Surgery, and Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgery, but it was understood that there were only a few applicants.
Regarding this, a post titled "Some fellows are returning" was uploaded on an online community exclusively for doctors. The presumed doctor who wrote the post claimed, "As professors' stamina declines, some fellows are returning, increasing bed occupancy rates." However, rebuttals suggesting that this trend is not widespread followed. A hospital official explained, "It is presumed that the faction leading the strike opposes even a single applicant's presence."
Military Medical Officer Appointments Also Seen as a Key Variable in Resident Returns
The possibility of residents returning is attributed to feelings of guilt for leaving patients behind, despair from being criticized by those patients, and uncertainty about the future after about two months of ongoing circumstances. Furthermore, it is reported that many residents are disappointed by the discord among the next president of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), the Emergency Response Committee (ERC), some residents, and university professors.
Jeong Geun-young, the representative resident doctor of Bundang CHA Hospital, is speaking at the "Group Complaint Press Conference on Policy Damage Resident Doctor Park Min-su's Accusation Against the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare for Abuse of Authority and Obstruction of Rights" held on the morning of the 15th at the Korean Medical Association in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Above all, as the collective resignation crisis enters a prolonged phase, analyses suggest that financial hardship and other difficulties may become factors prompting residents to return. Residents who have left hospitals do not receive salaries. Jeong Geun-young, former representative of residents at Bundang CHA Hospital, claimed at a press conference on the 15th advocating for residents' damages, "Looking at resident communities, some resigned residents are working part-time jobs such as parcel delivery or academy instructors, or are surviving on overdraft accounts." A resident affiliated with one of the Big 5 said, "Many face financial difficulties because they did not work as general practitioners but started training immediately after graduating from school, and their living expenses have been cut off."
Military medical officer appointments are also considered a variable in the residents' return trend. Unlike residents who are usually appointed in March, military medical officers and public health doctors are discharged or released from service in April and typically join hospitals around May, which is why the term 'May Turn' is used in the medical community. However, even if military medical officers join hospitals, it is expected that hospital normalization will not be easy. Meanwhile, the government is closely monitoring the situation, believing that if the return of fellows at Seoul National University Hospital or the 'May Turn' becomes a reality, it will affect not only other hospitals but also residents.
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