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. 2025 Sep 30;28(3):201-210.
doi: 10.3831/KPI.2025.28.3.201.

Status and Needs Analysis of Korean Medicine Doctors' Continuing Professional Development

Eun-Byul Cho  1   2 , Jae-Chang Lee  3 , Eun-Jung Kim  4 , Hak-Jun Jo  5 , Seon-Kyoung Kim  6 , Yong-Taek Oh  7 , Ji-Seong Hong  8 , Son-Hwan Choi  9 , Soo-Bo Shim  10
Affiliations

Status and Needs Analysis of Korean Medicine Doctors' Continuing Professional Development

Eun-Byul Cho et al. J Pharmacopuncture. .

Abstract

Objectives: The present study aimed to analyze the status and needs of Korean Medicine doctors' (KMDs) continuing professional development (CPD) and establish future improvement directions.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey targeting all KMDs was conducted between October 23 to November 5, 2024, obtaining 624 responses. The questionnaire was developed to assess satisfaction with continuing education and residency training, perceived efficacy on competency development, and improvement needs.

Results: While current CPD programs effectively enhanced optimal patient care competencies (highest-rated domain), approximately 40% of respondents indicated minimal improvement in social accountability and clinical management competencies. The most requested improvements were the expansion of practical training opportunities (63.0%) and curriculum improvement (37.0%). For residency training, respondents prioritized developing competency-centered curricula (65.0%) and standardized educational programs across training hospitals (63.3%).

Conclusion: Findings indicate that KMDs desire increased practical training opportunities, competency-based standardized curricula, and expanded scope of practice through institutional support. Establishing competency frameworks across clinical departments and strengthening competencies required in modern healthcare environments are essential for advancing Korean Medicine practice.

Keywords: Korean medicine; continuing education; cross-sectional survey; life-long learning; residency training.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The most common type of continuing education that respondents have taken in the last three years. AKOM, Association of Korean Medicine; SKOM, The Society of Korean Medicine; AFMC, The Armed Force Medical Command; MOHW, Ministry of Health and Welfare; APKOM, Association of Public Health Doctors of Korean Medicine; KM, Korean Medicine; KIOM, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine; KOHI, Korea Human Resource Development Institute for Health & Welfare.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Impact of continuing education on improving the five competencies of Korean Medicine doctors.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Improvement measures for the KMD continuing education programs (multiple responses allowed).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Prioritized solutions for enhancing Korean Medicine doctors’ competencies and expanding scope of practice (ranked selections up to 7th priority).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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