Doctors angered by plan to require additional license to open practices

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As the medical standoff extends over seven months, the government has been discussing mandating an additional license in order to open private hospitals, sparking fury among young doctors here, many of whom have walked off the job to protest the government's medical school quota hike.

In line with the government's health care reform plan, the Health Ministry is reviewing introducing a so-called “practice license” in the future, arguing that a doctor's license alone cannot guarantee the ability to open a practice or conduct treatment independently, which could jeopardize the safety of the patients.

Under the current medical training system, doctors are licensed as soon as they graduate from medical school and pass the national examination. With a doctor's license, they can practice independently as a general practitioner without having to go through additional training or specialization at medical institutions.

The percentage of doctors who started working as general practitioners the same year they received their licenses increased from about 12 percent in 2013 to about 16 percent in 2021, according to the Health Ministry.

With the fact that attending medical school takes six years and then immediately afterwards, doctors are able to begin practicing independently, voices were raised at a recent public discussion held by the special committee on health care reform arguing medical interns should be evaluated and granted a separate license before becoming independent clinicians, the ministry said at a briefing Tuesday.

The medical community has criticized the possible implementation of this new license requirement as attempting to exploit junior doctors as "cheap labor" at large hospitals by extending the training period and restricting them from independently opening private clinics.

The Korean Medical Association stated that such a practice license system would extend training and practice time from the current six years to a longer period, equivalent to effectively abolishing the current medical license system.

In a written announcement they also said that implementing a practice license would not only drastically reduce the supply of practicing doctors, but it would only benefit hospital administrators who want to keep low-paid trainees in the labor force longer.

KMA also pointed out that the government requiring doctors to have a practice license also violates the constitutional principles of freedom to practice the profession.

In the United Kingdom, doctors are licensed to practice in addition to their medical license. Canada also requires two years of post-graduation training to become licensed.

“If you look at the UK, Japan and the US, after graduating from medical school, doctors need to complete additional training and obtain independent practice qualifications and licenses before they can open their own clinics or be hired by medical institutions,” a Health Ministry official said.

In addition, the ministry is reviewing establishing a system to estimate the supply and demand of health care personnel and link it to university places, promote training innovation such as one-on-one guidance from supervising doctors and strengthen state investment and training cooperation between upper-level general hospitals and other general hospitals.

By Choi Jeong-yoon(jychoi@heraldcorp.com)