Medical School Expansion Sparks Controversy for Nursing Colleges
Only One Large Hospital Hiring Nurses in First Half of Year
Nursing Students Consider Taking Leave Due to Employment Difficulties
The fallout from the worsening medical school enrollment increase crisis has spilled over onto nursing college senior students. Hospitals, struggling with management difficulties due to medical vacancies caused by resident doctor departures, have stopped hiring new nurses.
According to the medical community on the 16th, among tertiary general hospitals, only Chung-Ang University Hospital is currently conducting new nurse recruitment in the first half of this year.
Earlier in January, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced plans to implement a 'simultaneous interview system' where 22 tertiary general hospitals in the metropolitan area would conduct final nurse interviews simultaneously to prevent workforce shortages, but this was canceled as hospital conditions worsened due to resident doctor departures.
A Ministry of Health and Welfare official stated, "The situation has deteriorated to the point where even existing nurses are being sent on unpaid leave, making it difficult for hospitals to plan new nurse recruitment," adding, "So far, only Chung-Ang University Hospital in the first half and Wonkwang University Hospital in the second half have clearly expressed intentions to hire."
Additionally, the official said, "It is uncertain whether hospitals that did not recruit new nurses in the first half will post recruitment announcements in the second half. If recruitment is conducted in the second half, we will try to organize it so that it can be done collectively in October as originally planned."
Originally, new nurses should have been appointed sequentially from the end of February following the announcement of the national nursing exam results in February, but due to the resident doctor crisis, most appointments have not been made this year.
In particular, the situation is worse for the so-called 'Big 5' hospitals?Seoul National University Hospital, Samsung Medical Center, Asan Medical Center, Severance Hospital, and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital?which heavily relied on residents. These hospitals, which have hired hundreds of new nurses annually, are uncertain whether they will be able to announce recruitment for next year's new nurses within this year.
Nursing students are reluctantly considering taking leaves of absence. Maintaining their university student status is less anxiety-inducing and more advantageous for future employment than graduating without securing a job.
On the nursing student online community 'Gathering for Preparing Nurses (Ganjunmo),' numerous posts titled "I'm thinking about taking a leave of absence" have been uploaded. Other posts expressing frustration, such as "Unprecedented unemployment," and "Did I study hard for 4 years for this?" continue to appear.
One member, presumed to be a prospective nursing graduate, posted a message titled "4th year, 2nd semester left, thinking about taking a leave of absence," writing, "I heard that university hospitals have no hiring plans this year and felt despair. I wonder if I studied hard for 4 years for this, and suddenly I feel burned out and very depressed. I'm thinking about skipping a year. I'm worried because there is no guarantee that the job market will normalize next year." This post received many empathetic replies such as, "Professors recommend taking a leave of absence. There is no solution in the current situation," and "Many people are considering taking a leave, so the number of students on leave might be quite high."
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