KAMS says K-ACGME is unrealistic within Korean healthcare reality < Policy < Article

Four out of five trainee doctors have left their training hospitals, but the remaining senior doctors are now considering how to improve the training environment for the junior physicians who will eventually return. In response, the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS) is preparing to launch a tentatively named “Trainee Doctor Training Center.” This new organization will evaluate and certify whether hospitals provide appropriate education to trainee doctors, with the goal of strengthening and institutionalizing medical training standards.

Park Joong-shin, Vice President of the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences and a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Seoul National University Hospital, recently told Korea Biomedical Review that internal discussions are underway to improve the training environment for returning junior doctors. One proposed initiative is the establishment of the Trainee Doctor Training Center, which would be responsible for training supervising physicians, certifying training programs, and evaluating educational content.

This function is similar to that of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in the U.S. Established in 1981, the ACGME is responsible for accrediting residency programs and training hospitals, as well as overseeing competency-based medical education. In Korea, the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration — under its “healthcare reform” initiative — also acknowledged the need for a Korean-style training oversight body, tentatively referred to as “K-ACGME,” through its special committee on healthcare reform.

KAMS is also preparing for this initiative, believing that evaluation and certification are essential to the internalization of medical education. However, according to Park, the government’s healthcare reform task force’s proposal to establish a K-ACGME as a separate, independent organization does not align with Korea’s current realities. It lacks the necessary manpower and financial resources to operate as a standalone entity.

The ACGME operates with more than 230 full-time employees, supported by approximately 500 specialty-specific review committee members and 150 to 200 on-site evaluators. Its annual operating budget ranges from $60 million to $70 million, funded through accreditation fees, government support, and private donations.

“Korea and the U.S. have different healthcare environments and systems,” Park said. “It’s not easy to establish a fully independent organization like in the U.S., nor is it easy to secure the necessary manpower and financial resources.” He emphasized that “launching a K-ACGME immediately does not reflect Korea’s current reality.”

Rather than creating an entirely new organization, Park suggested that training oversight should be developed in stages through institutes affiliated with KAMS. “Establishing a new organization would require significant time and financial investment,” he said, adding that KAMS could first lay the groundwork and build the necessary framework.

KAMS envisions that the proposed training center will be responsible for certifying training programs and evaluating their content. Training hospitals that fail to meet these standards would not be allocated trainee doctor positions. The goal is to ensure that only institutions that provide proper education — rather than viewing trainee doctors as “cheap labor” — are recognized as legitimate training hospitals. Once such a system is firmly established, the foundation could be laid for launching an independent organization, similar to the ACGME, to manage and operate the system.

“In the future, only hospitals with a genuine commitment and sense of mission to train doctors should be designated as training hospitals,” Park said. “It should no longer be customary for hospitals to receive trainee doctor placements without the proper infrastructure or educational programs in place.”