What happens when doctors refuse to see patients and protest? Well, South Korea has been facing a similar situation recently when thousands of doctors chose to walk off their profession and began to protest. The protest has been fueled by a government plan that aims to bring a substantial surge in the admissions in medical schools and the number of physicians in South Korea.
Doctors are against this government plan and with every passing day, more and more doctors are joining hands in opposition to the plan. Doctors, both new and old, aren't hesitant to join the protest, and the agitation is so strong that it has compelled many senior doctors of the country to willfully resign from their positions to demonstrate their anger.
Are the issues this serious? Why are doctors disliking the government plan? What is the complete story? The tiff is between doctors and the government and thus it is important to express the viewpoint of both parties.
Here, we have illuminated the matter with transparency!
The exact reasons: Why are doctors in South Korea protesting?
The outrage lies at the heart of the junior doctors of the country. The junior doctors are dissatisfied with the working conditions of the doctors. The existing pay isn't sufficient for the long working hours as per the young doctors and thus, they demand the government to cater to these important issues first, rather than trying to increase the number of medical physicians in the country.
A report suggests that typically, trainees or junior doctors in South Korea work for over 80 to 100 hours in the five working days of the week. This implies that junior doctors in South Korea work for about 20 hours in a day. Doctors in the protest are of the view that such a situation can be worked out only by hiring more senior doctors and staff, rather than enhancing the number of junior doctors or trainees.
Junior doctors complain that they are burdened with heavy workload and the present system seems broken.
The junior doctors argue that a plan intended to increase the number of junior doctors admissions will lead the physician quality in the country to suffer. Moreover, they also argue that the new doctors will prefer to choose jobs in cities rather than working in underserved and rural areas of the country. They also argue that new doctors may choose to pick only high paid specialties of the medical field such as dermatology.
The junior doctors believe that the medical system is largely privatized and more doctors will lead to enhanced yet unnecessary treatments in this system.
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The response by the government
While the doctors demand for better working conditions, the government argues that a plan aimed at increasing the number of junior doctors and trainees will cater to the increasing need for more working doctors in South Korea. The country at present requires more doctors to cater to the healthcare needs of the rural population of the country.
There is an expected shortfall of about 15,000 doctors by the year 2035 in South Korea, and the government's plan to welcome more and more junior doctors is aimed at filling this gap.
The government plans to augment the medical school places to 5100 from 3100 in a single year.
What does the public of South Korea want?
While the working doctors of the country are largely opposing the plan of the government, it seems as if the general public of South Korea is ready to welcome it. This can be inferred through the results of a February Gallup poll, which said that about 76 percent of the South Koreans were in support of the government plan. The country is currently seeing a low doctor to patient ratio and its population is ageing. Therefore, the broad public support that the plan has received from the people of South Korea makes sense.
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