In the 10 years before the introduction of the local doctor system, one in three critical care workers at national university hospitals in non-metropolitan areas is expected to reach the age of 65 or older.

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jan-di = Over the next 10 years, when doctors will be trained under the regional doctor system that will be implemented from the 2027 school year, approximately 3 out of 10 existing severe disease specialists at local national university hospitals are expected to reach the age of 65 or older.

As it takes a considerable amount of time for local doctors to establish themselves as actual professionals, it is pointed out that we need to prepare for a gap in skilled medical personnel that may occur in the meantime.

On the 4th, Representative Heo Jong-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the Health and Welfare Committee of the National Assembly, analyzed the status of seriously ill medical personnel for 10 years from 2027, when the regional doctor system is implemented in 16 main and branch hospitals of national university hospitals.

The regional doctor system is a system introduced to resolve the imbalance in supply and demand of medical personnel between regions and the problem of regional medical disparities, and will be applied starting from the 2027 college admissions process. The first graduates will be born in 2033, but considering the training period for majors, it may take about 10 years to train actual human resources.

According to the congressman's office, as of 2027, the number of specialists related to major cancer surgery and treatment and pediatric leukemia at 16 national university hospitals across the country was a total of 498, including 147 at 2 in the metropolitan area and 351 at 14 non-metropolitan areas.

The average number of people per institution is 73.5 in two metropolitan areas and 25.1 in 14 non-metropolitan areas.

As of 2027, it is estimated that among the 351 critically ill specialists at national university hospitals in non-metropolitan areas, 12 are over 65 years of age. Afterwards, 32 people will reach the age of 65 or older by 2032, and 56 people will reach the age of 65 or older between 2033 and 2037.

As a result, a cumulative 100 people will reach the age of 65 or older by 2037. This is equivalent to 28.5% of the total 351 seriously ill professionals in the non-metropolitan area.

The proportion of people reaching the age of 65 or older by 2037 was highest at Kangwon National University Hospital (55.6%), Jeju National University (50.0%), Gyeongsang National University (45.9%), Chungbuk National University (36.8%), and Chonbuk National University (32.0%).

In the first place, the average age of severe disease specialists is also higher in hospitals outside the metropolitan area.

As of 2027, the average age of 147 critical care specialists at national university hospitals in the metropolitan area was 47.1 years old, while the average age of 351 people in non-metropolitan areas was 48.4 years old.

The average age of five national university hospitals outside the metropolitan area exceeded 50 years, including Kangwon National University (54.4 years old), Jeju National University (52.2 years old), Gyeongsang National University (50.7 years old), Chungbuk National University (50.4 years old), and Changwon Gyeongsang National University (50.2 years old).

Since cancer surgery and treatment and pediatric leukemia are fields that require skilled medical personnel, the congressman's office emphasized that measures to respond to the aging of the existing professional workforce are needed separately from training local doctors.

Rep. Heo Jong-sik said, “While we are increasing manpower through the local doctor system, existing skilled professionals may leave local national university hospitals first,” and added, “We need to estimate manpower gaps by hospital and medical field now and prepare proactively.”