Last week, the Ministry of Education was found to be planning to allow three universities — which were permitted to admit government-funded postgraduate medical students under special provisions from 2022 to this year — to continue admitting self-funded medical students next year beyond the enrollment cap, which has not been changed in two decades.
The three universities are: National Tsing Hua University, National Chung Hsing University and National Sun Yat-sen University.
Eleven medical groups issued a statement to oppose the plan. The ministry responded by saying it did not intend to increase the admission quota, with the Executive Yuan saying that it has decided to maintain the total medical student enrollment quota at 1,300 per year.
The incident revealed that the Ministry of Health and Welfare has decided to halt its plan to provide a government-sponsored quota for medical students in some specialties after this academic year.
The purpose of the program was to address the uneven distribution of doctors across the country and different specialties.
The program should not be halted, so that medical needs in remote areas could be fulfilled, while the shortage of doctors in some specialties, including general medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, emergency medicine, and intensive care could be addressed. Why end the program after this academic year?
Most medical school graduates in Taiwan are not willing to dedicate themselves in those specialties. Many would rather pursue a career in specialties, such as cosmetic surgery, that are less stressful or do not require shift work. This is a clear result of the medical education system in our country failing to produce graduates willing to serve in those demanding specialties.
Now that the program designed to address shortages in those areas is to be ceased, it would mean that the nation’s medical schools could not enroll students who are willing to selflessly serve the public, while also being unable to produce graduates who are committed to rescuing lives.
What is the purpose of establishing medical schools? Do medical school professors and experts of the Taiwan Medical Accreditation Council live up to what they are expected of?
Lin Min-che is a surgeon.
Translated by Fion Khan
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