South Korea mobilizes thousands of physician assistants to respond to medical crisis

On April 12, the South Korean Health Ministry said it will mobilize more than 2,700 physician assistants to hospitals to minimize disruptions to the health system amid the prolonged layoff of trainee doctors.

Deserted scene at a hospital on April 11. Photo: Yonhap

According to the Yonhap news agency, citing the Korean Ministry of Health , as of the end of March, there were 8,982 physician assistants working at 375 general hospitals nationwide. The government plans to add 2,715 physician assistants to bring the total number to about 12,000.

The South Korean government will launch specializededucation and training programs for physician assistants starting next week. Known as clinical nurse specialists or operating room nurses, these physician assistants typically take on some of the duties of doctors-in-training at medical facilities, such as conducting tests and assisting in surgeries.

More than 90 percent of South Korea's 13,000 trainee doctors have quit their jobs since Feb. 20 in protest against the government's plan to increase the number of medical school students by 2,000 from next year, up from the current 3,058. The government has stressed the need to increase the number of students to address the shortage of doctors, especially in rural areas and in essential medical fields such as high-risk surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and emergency medicine.

Major hospitals in South Korea are grappling with huge losses as the strike enters its eighth week. Earlier this month, Park Seung-il, head of Asan Medical Center, said the hospital had incurred a net loss of 51.1 billion won ($38 million) from February 20 to March 30, while the government had provided only 1.7 billion won in support over the 40-day period. “If the stalemate continues or worsens, the net loss by the end of this year is expected to be around 460 billion won,” Park said.

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Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/han-quoc-dieu-dong-hang-ngan-tro-ly-bac-si-ung-pho-khung-hoang-y-te-post735028.html