[비즈한국] As pharmaceutical and biotech companies actively recruit medical school graduates, attention is turning to whether more resigned medical residents will head toward the corporate sector. With the recent influx of personnel into private practice, some residents are beginning to consider obtaining overseas medical licenses or pursuing employment in private companies. Where will the 80% of resigned residents who have not yet secured employment at medical institutions choose to go?
"Medical License Holders" and "Medical Majors" in High Demand
Samsung Bioepis, the top-ranked company in medical and pharmaceutical R&D, recently posted a job opening specifically for medical license holders. This is the first time they have recruited physicians in a year and a half. The positions include Research Physician, Clinical Research Physician, Therapeutic Area Physician, and Safety Physician. The Research Physician and Clinical Research Physician roles are responsible for tasks such as exploring and verifying clinical indicators by disease and establishing clinical trial development plans and strategies, respectively. The Therapeutic Area Physician and Safety Physician perform duties such as providing medical advice for marketed products and pipelines, and post-marketing surveillance.
GC Biopharma006280 and Samjin Pharmaceutical005500 have issued job postings that restrict eligibility to "medical majors." GC Biopharma is recruiting for an R&D pharmacovigilance specialist. If hired, the individual will handle tasks such as pharmacovigilance contract and system management, drafting comprehensive safety reports, and processing individual cases for government reporting. In the case of Samjin Pharmaceutical, the annual open recruitment this year included academic affairs personnel. Their duties will include establishing medical and pharmaceutical strategies, creating data on clinical research trends, and setting strategies related to product development and clinical research. Additionally, Hugel145020 has posted a job opening for its medical team to handle communication with overseas medical staff and provide consultations on medical materials.
Pharmaceutical companies have traditionally hired those with medical backgrounds for roles in fields like clinical research, acting as a bridge between R&D, marketing, and sales by providing medical advice. However, in Korea, the rate of choosing medical residency training is high, and even general practitioners prefer to open their own clinics, making it difficult for pharmaceutical companies to recruit medical license holders. Usually, they have only managed to scout professor-level individuals for executive positions. An internal medicine physician, "A," explained, "I've met many people from pharmaceutical companies while working, but I don't think I've ever met a doctor. It's safe to say that hardly anyone goes into a pharmaceutical company after graduating from medical school."
With Private Practices Saturated, Will Jobs in Overseas and Private Companies Increase?
Against this backdrop, interest is growing in whether resigned residents will shift their career paths toward private companies like pharmaceutical firms. While some resigned residents have returned to medical institutions, a larger portion has yet to make a decision. The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated in a briefing by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters regarding the medical collective action on the 14th, "As of the 12th, 971 (20.7%) out of 4,698 resigned residents have found employment at medical institutions. We have identified that 42% of these are employed at hospitals or larger, while 58% are at clinics." This is an increase of 346 (55%) from the 625 people recorded as of the 5th. As the market for private practices reaches a "saturation point," some are looking toward obtaining overseas medical licenses or turning to the private sector. For pharmaceutical companies, this has become an opportunity to resolve the issue of physician shortages.
Reflecting this atmosphere, the Korean Medical Association recently held a symposium for residents and medical students titled "The Third Way for Doctors: The Bio Industry and the Role of Physicians." The symposium covered topics such as the structure and trends of the bio industry, the role of physicians in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, and the role of physicians in the healthcare industry. Officials from Samsung Bioepis, Kakao Healthcare, and the Shinhan Financial Group healthcare team gave lectures, and about 200 residents and medical students attended. Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the People Power Party delivered a congratulatory address.
The Korean Medical Association formed a Career Support Task Force for resigned residents on the 30th of last month and has been holding training courses every week. This month, "Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Training Course," "Internal Medicine Ultrasound Training Course," and "Dermatology Training Course" were held. An orthopedic ultrasound hands-on course is scheduled for next month. Park Geun-tae, head of the Resigned Resident Career Support TF (President of the Korean Medical Practitioners Association), stated, "We are preparing courses that fit the needs of residents so that their learning chain is not broken. There are many residents who do not want job hunting. For them, we have organized a program to help them experience what private practice is like, which started today."