A doctor walks inside of a Seoul hospital on Aug. 27, 2020 (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — With South Korea’s birthrate hitting record lows each year, many children born with heart conditions are being overlooked.
Becoming a medical specialist in pediatric cardiology requires obtaining certification as a medical specialist, completing a specified period of full-time medical practice, and successfully passing a separate examination.
Statistical data from the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences and the Korean Pediatric Heart Society revealed that only one individual took the pediatric cardiology examinations in 2017; this number increased to seven in 2019, six in 2020 and eight in 2021.
Examinations were not held last year due to a lack of applicants.
Medical experts specializing in pediatric and congenital heart surgery are facing a similar crisis, with zero applicants in 2017, followed by one in 2018, three in 2019, two in 2020 and two in 2021. Similarly, there were no applicants last year.
“Over half of the country’s heart surgeons capable of treating children with congenital heart diseases will soon be approaching retirement age,” said Lee Chang-ha, chairman of the Korean Pediatric Heart Society.
According to the organization, the number of medical specialists in pediatric cardiology — capable of diagnosing and treating congenital heart diseases in children — is rapidly declining, with fewer than ten new pediatric cardiologists joining each year.
Even nurses have recently started to avoid positions related to pediatric cardiology.
“Specialized medical fields involving high-risk, complex surgeries, frequent night and weekend shifts, emergencies, and on-call duties should offer an improved working environment and appropriate compensation,” said An Sang-ho, head of the Korea Congenital Heart Disease Patients Organization.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
