A Review on the Clinical Laboratory Personnel in North Korea

There is a noticeable gap in the personnel structures of clinical laboratories between North Korea and South Korea. In North Korea, 'Laboratory Doctor' is similar to the workforce of 'Medical Technologist (commonly known as Clinical Laboratory Technologist or Medical Laboratory Scientist)' in South Korea. Considering preceding research based on the verbal evidence of North Korean healthcare personnel defectors, it is estimated that the status of laboratory doctor in North Korea generally corresponds to physician and feldsher (such as physician assistant in Western countries). Physicians and feldshers are trained and fostered for five and a half years in medical universities and for three years in medical vocational schools (so-called junior college of medicine). Unlike South Korea, the North Korea's healthcare personnel system does not subdivide the tasks, education, qualifications and law regarding the specialties of health experts. It is thought that the Korean Association of Medical Technologists needs to collaboratively search and present the milestones for establishment of a professional system on clinical laboratory personnel in North Korea through cooperative research on policies with the related organizations for better preparation of the unification of the Korean Peninsula.

북한 임상검사인력에 대한 고찰

북한과 남한은 임상검사실 인력구조에서 차이가 있다. 북한에서는 남한의 '임상병리사'에 해당하는 유사인력을 '실험의사(검사의사)'라고 호칭한다. 본 연구자들은 탈북 보건의료인의 증언을 바탕으로 한 선행연구를 고찰해 보면, 검사의사(laboratory doctor)의 신분은 의사(physician)와 준의(feldsher, physician assistant)일 것이라고 사료된다. 의사와 준의는 5.5년제 의학대학 및 3년제 의학전문학교에서 양성되고 있다. 북한의 보건의료인력체계는 남한의 경우처럼 보건전문가들의 전문영역별 업무나 교육, 자격 및 법률이 세분화되어 있지 않다. 대한임상병리사협회는 한반도 통일을 대비하여 유관 단체와 함께 정책연구를 통해서 북한 임상검사인력에 대한 직제 전문화 구축과 발전 방향을 상호 모색해야 할 것으로 사료된다.