(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, April 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The dwindling number of public health doctors working in community health centers in counties or smaller administrative districts is expanding the medical vacuum in the countryside.
The shortage is caused by a smaller number of new physicians acting as public health doctors in lieu of military service than those who are about to complete their service there.
This year, North Gyeongsang Province is deploying 168 new public health doctors (70 in medicine, 35 in dentistry, and 63 in traditional Chinese medicine), which is 25 fewer than the previous year.
The number of public health doctors specializing in medicine, in particular, has dropped by 37 from the previous year. As such, 36 health clinics in the region will be deprived of a public health doctor specializing in medicine.
Gangwon Province only recruited 101 public health doctors this year, down by 29 from the previous year. This falls short of the 145 doctors that the province requested from the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
“Military service is only 20 months, and public health doctors serve for three years. It is no wonder medical students prefer to join the military,” said an official at the South Jeolla provincial office.
The community health center in Sancheong County, South Gyeongsang Province, had to leave the position of internal medicine empty for almost 12 months after the latest public health doctor left.
Only recently was the clinic able to fill the position with a new doctor.
The position was filled after four consecutive fruitless recruiting periods, with the country offering an annual salary of 360 million won (US$273,350).
The health ministry said that 1,106 public health doctors have been newly recruited this year. In comparison, 1,290 doctors are leaving their posts after completing their three years of service.
The total number of public health doctors will shrink from 3,360 in March to 3,176 in April. There were only 450 public health doctors specializing in medicine newly recruited this year, down by 45 percent from 2017.
“The government has to allow more students to enroll in medical school,” said an official at the Ulsan Metropolitan Government. “The government has been too cautious about allowing more students into medical schools for too long.”
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
