[Insight & Opinion] Medical School Admissions in a Dilemma: Who Will Take Responsibility?

The medical reform stubbornly pushed by the government has completely lost momentum due to the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol. However, it cannot simply return to square one. Both medical schools and tertiary hospitals have become irreversibly devastated. The harsh emergency martial law decree to ‘punish’ the residents who had long resigned in despair over the government’s unrealistic policies has made the situation even more difficult.

The voices from the medical community demanding a halt to medical school admissions are growing louder. There are calls to restrict the carryover of unfilled early admissions slots to the regular admissions and to minimize the scale of regular admissions as much as possible. The Ministry of Education remains immovable. Medical professors and students have begun to plead directly to university presidents, urging them not to become ‘collaborators’ who ruin medical education and the healthcare system. They are also raising their voices to the Ministry of Education, demanding that it no longer infringe on university autonomy.

With the current manpower, facilities, and budget of medical schools, it is impossible to handle the unrealistic increase pushed by the government. This is an obvious fact even a child could understand. The 5 trillion won financial support and the increase of 1,000 medical professors, loudly emphasized by Education Minister Lee Ju-ho, have become empty promises. Amid the chaos of the impeachment crisis, the Ministry of Education cannot freely pour massive budgets into medical schools.

Now, the burden of increasing medical school admissions falls entirely on the medical professors, and the damage will be borne directly by students and the public. Students entering medical schools will have to live with the shameful stigma of being the ‘Yoon Seok-yeol generation’ for life. Future citizens, who must entrust their health to doctors who have not received proper medical education, are also victims of the shoddy ‘Yoon Seok-yeol style medical reform.’

The situation is very serious. Especially when medical students who took a leave of absence during this year return, the first-year premedical lecture halls will be packed with up to five times the usual number of students. This means that even minimal education will become impossible. Tearing down lecture hall walls or setting up tents in parking lots will never solve the problem.

The ripple effects of poor education caused by increasing medical school admissions do not end with medical schools. ‘Residency training,’ which requires far more social costs than medical education, will also become impossible. Large training hospitals can accommodate only about 100 residents per year. To train the increased number of residents due to the increase, 15 more Big 5-level university hospitals would need to be built immediately. There is no money, no manpower, and no patients. It is an unmanageable task even with a complete upheaval.

Of course, accommodating the demands of the medical community is not easy. Thirty-nine medical schools nationwide have announced 3,118 early admission successful candidates. From the 31st, regular admissions selecting 1,492 students will also begin. Opposition from examinees and parents who wish to enter medical schools is inevitable. However, the situation must not be worsened to a level where a small hoe cannot stop what a large hoe can. Now, university presidents must make a drastic decision.

The medical community also needs to engage in self-reflection. The medical community’s fierce ‘struggle’ has failed. It has not even persuaded doctors from various professions. Especially the harsh conflicts with young residents and medical students were disgraceful. Now, the medical community must make more active efforts to directly persuade the public.

Lee Deok-hwan, Professor Emeritus at Sogang University, Chemistry and Science Communication