대한내과학회가 당면한 과제

Abstract

Since its establishment in 1945, the Korean Association of Internal Medicine (KAIM) has had a proud history of overcoming challenges with the combined and harmonized endeavors of all KAIM members. KAIM is now facing several issues related to marked social changes in Korea as well as revolutions in medical science and scientific and communications technologies. Furthermore, KAIM shortened the resident training program in 2017. Internal medicine (IM) is an essential discipline for maintaining and improving the health of Korean citizens. However, the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare lacks initiatives for supporting IM, and the Korean Health Insurance reimbursement policy does not reflect the essential role of IM in health care. This is aggravated by imbalances in hospital resources and skewed notions in patients’ preferences with regard to metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. Limited preferences in application to subspecialties may be an obstacle for coordinated development of IM. The current generations of students and residents are familiar with online educational lectures and have different needs for educational materials, which are not met by conventional educational materials. Recent experiences in the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated or accelerated these changes and problems. From this perspective, I will summarize the challenges that KAIM is now facing, and outline some possible solutions.