By Kim Rahn
The government has a shortfall of applications for epidemiologist positions it was planning to fill in order to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Monday, it planned to recruit seven doctors for the positions, each with at least six years of experience, but fewer than that number applied by the deadline on Dec. 22. It did not disclose exactly how many candidates had applied.
The government is also seeking 18 doctors with at least two years of experience and five professionals with careers in the health sciences, veterinary science or pharmacology. But for the 23 vacancies, as well, fewer than 50 people applied, only about double the number of jobs.
Medical professionals attribute the shortfall to the change in government policy regarding the hiring of epidemiologic investigators as non-regular workers.
Earlier this month, the government initially pledged that all the investigators would be full-time workers, but then changed this to give them non-regular status on two-year contracts at first with three-year extensions later.
During the MERS epidemic, only two among the nation’s 34 epidemiologists were full-time employees belonging to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDCP). The others were public health doctors working in lieu of mandatory military service. It was noted that the small number of investigators had to work long hours and fatigue delayed their investigations.
Doctors say this change shows that the government lacks a strong will to improve the system of epidemiologic investigation.
“There is no reason for medical specialists to take the two-year job,” a doctor said on condition of anonymity. “The two-year career as epidemiologists will not be helpful for them to find new jobs or treat patients afterward.”
He said the government should take the epidemiology policy more seriously if it really wants to reinforce the capability for epidemiologic investigations.