Resigned trainee doctors face difficulties finding jobs with halved paychecks

Trainee doctors who left teaching hospitals due to a conflict with the government are finding it difficult to find jobs.

Nearly 10,000 junior doctors are looking for new jobs simultaneously after hospitals accepted their resignations in a lump sum under the government’s pressure.

“I’m looking for a job mainly in the emergency department,” said a trainee doctor who resigned from the emergency department of one of the five largest training hospitals in Seoul, called the “Big Five,” in a telephone interview with Korea Biomedical Review last Friday. “I’m still submitting applications by mail to provincial hospitals. However, getting a job is difficult and there aren’t many jobs.”

Another trainee doctor, who resigned from his job as an intern at a university hospital in Chungcheong provinces, said, “I got a job at a nursing hospital after interviewing all this week. I sent out about 20 to 30 applications, and dozens of applications piled up everywhere I went. Many have applied more than me and still haven’t gotten a job.”

“I know things are even harder in the skin and beauty field. I heard their salaries were already cut by half at the beginning of the year (when the doctor-government conflict started), and they are even cutting the salaries of existing employees,” he said. “Someone I know had his salary cut by 1 million won ($720) last month.”

“The salary in the beauty area was originally 14 million won a month, but it dropped to 6 million won. If it falls further, it could go down to the 4 million won range,” he said. “It’s not impossible to live on 4 million won, but in the end, it seems to be going the way the government wanted.”

The trainee doctors hoped the Korean Medical Association (KMA) would activate job placement.

“Recruitment is often a matter of acquaintance. It is arranged by someone you know. Instead, I would like to see job information posted in an open recruitment method, not just introducing jobs, but actual job connections,” said the trainee doctor who resigned from one of the Big 5 hospitals.

“I want them to teach me how to catch fish, not just give me a piece of bread. I would also like hospitals to allow surrogate treatments for a month or open unused rooms to resigned doctors. Nearly 10,000 junior doctors will knock on the job market. It’s not enough to cut existing jobs. We need to create new jobs,” he added.

The former intern at a Chungcheong Province hospital said, “People living on credit lines should find jobs anywhere. Calls are mounting for KMA to reinvigorate job placement efforts. It would be nice to have subsidies, but finding a job is the most urgent priority right now.”

In response, Chae Dong-young, director of public relations and deputy spokesperson for the Korean Medical Association, said, “We have prepared a job search program before, but job seekers far exceed recruiters. Hiring all job seekers as doctors is difficult, so we are trying to find ways, including increasing part-time jobs. We are also thinking about encouraging neighborhood clinics to hire more general practitioners.”

Situations at neighborhood clinics are not good amid calls for ‘lowering eye levels’

Regional medical associations are also supporting trainee doctors. Some municipal and provincial medical associations organize fundraisers or prepare for job placement.

“We have decided to help trainee doctors by matching them with teaching hospitals in each of the 25 districts through the district societies,” said Hwang Kyu-seok, chairman of the Seoul Medical Association. “We also plan to set up a job board at the Seoul Medical Association so that doctors in Seoul can find employment at medical institutions in the capital city.”

Hwang continued, “We have been using the funds distributed by the medical association to support doctors, but it is expected to run out by August. The medical association gives the money to the training hospitals, and the training hospitals distribute it to trainee doctors in need, so it is hard to give it to all junior doctors or provide a large amount of money. We are still looking for ways.”

However, Hwang said it would be difficult for neighborhood clinics to fill all the job demands, adding that job seekers point to the wage issue but the situations at these clinics are not easy.

“It’s hard to adjust the salary to the level that doctors want,” Hwang said, “However, we will try to adjust it as much as possible by collecting opinions from doctors.”

A regional medical association said while asking for anonymity, “Many general practitioners encourage recruitment and provide help for junior doctors. Still, there are also clear limitations because they must make ends meet.”

“With the minimum wage increase, it is difficult to maintain existing hospital administrators or hire new ones, so it is even harder to recruit doctors. It would be helpful for doctors to understand the situation and find the ‘right eye level’ to find a job,” he added.

Another provincial medical association head said, “It is difficult to find a large-scale employment linkage and employment in the region unless it is the Seoul metro region. Some members are worried that even if a specialist is hired for a generalist position, retaining them in the hospital will be difficult because once the restrictions are lifted, they will reapply to their previous training hospitals.”

“It is important to address trainee doctors’ immediate financial difficulties, but junior doctors had better think about their careers in the long term and coordinate with their would-be employers,” he added.