Residents' Return Imminent... Confusion for Both Teaching and Secondary Hospitals

PA-based Systems Must Be Reversed for Resident Training Again
Primary and Secondary Hospitals in Regional and Essential Fields Face Staffing Shortages

With the return of resigned residents imminent, both training hospitals that must recruit residents again for the first time in a year and a half, and small- to mid-sized hospitals that had been hiring the resigned residents in the meantime, are all facing difficulties. Large training hospitals now have to revert their patient care systems, which had been centered around PA (Physician Assistant) nurses, and primary and secondary hospitals that had alleviated staffing shortages by hiring resigned residents are now concerned about a sudden shortage of medical staff.

At the 3rd Training Council meeting held on the 7th at Dalgaebi in Jung-gu, Seoul, Han Sungjon, the Acting Chairman of the Korean Intern Resident Association, and Kim Gukil, Director of Health and Medical Policy, are shaking hands. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the medical community on August 8, large training hospitals are welcoming the return of resigned residents, but are also expressing concerns about the immediate challenges of transitioning their medical systems.

Previously, as the collective resignation of residents at training hospitals became prolonged, these hospitals established patient care systems centered around PA nurses to compensate for the lack of manpower. As a result, most of the tasks that residents handled before the conflict between the medical community and the government are now being performed by PA nurses. However, if a large number of residents return as early as next month, these hospitals will have to overhaul their systems once again.

Resident A, who returned to a major general hospital in Seoul, said, "The hospital system has changed significantly before and after the resignation," and added, "The division of work with PA nurses is unclear, and in the current system, I feel like the role of residents has become ambiguous."

In particular, the Training Council announced the previous day that residents wishing to return to the hospitals where they worked before resigning would be allowed to be hired at the discretion of the training hospitals, regardless of the existing quota. This means that the number of residents could potentially increase compared to before the conflict between the medical community and the government. Since many returning residents from other hospitals and PA nurses have already been hired, if all the previously resigned residents return, not only will there be issues of fairness with those who returned early, but the burden of labor costs will also increase significantly.

An official at a major general hospital stated, "We need to transition the system in line with the resident training plan, but since improvements to the training program have not yet been finalized, there is a lot of uncertainty." He continued, "Rather than returning to the old system where residents worked 80 hours a week, we will have to build an entirely new system." He also added, "In addition to the system, there are many other issues that are difficult to resolve in a short time, such as preparing accommodation for residents, establishing training plans, and creating a new organizational culture."

Primary and secondary hospitals are also uneasy. Residents who had been working at these hospitals after resigning from training hospitals have already started to leave one by one, and with the application period for the second half of the year’s resident recruitment beginning next week, a wave of resignations by doctors is expected. In particular, hospitals in regional areas and those in essential medical fields, which have already been struggling to recruit staff, are expected to be hit especially hard.

For example, in the emergency room of a general hospital in North Jeolla Province, three out of six medical staff are resigned residents, and it is reported that all of them are currently considering returning to their training hospitals. This hospital had already been experiencing a shortage of medical staff even before the collective resignation of residents. A hospital official said, "We plan to post job openings to fill the vacancies, but it is uncertain whether recruitment will go smoothly."

Similarly, at a pediatric hospital in Daejeon, half of the six medical staff are resigned residents, so there are concerns that operations may be disrupted if they return to their training hospitals. The hospital’s chief director said, "It is nearly impossible to find a pediatrician willing to work in a non-metropolitan area," and added, "While I support the residents returning to their training, I am realistically worried about whether our hospital will be able to fill even one vacancy immediately."