The recent call by more than 1,200 doctors urging the government to halt the approval of new medical degree programmes proposed by Rajabhat universities must prompt policymakers to examine a more fundamental question than whether Thailand needs more medical schools.
Thailand's healthcare crisis cannot be solved simply by a simplistic law of demand and supply. Expanding medical schools without addressing the structural weaknesses of the public health system risks treating the symptoms rather than the disease.
The shortage of doctors in public hospitals is real. Despite having some 84,000 licensed physicians nationwide, 21,000 serve in state hospitals, far below the estimated requirement of at least 35,000. The consequences are visibly overcrowded hospitals, exhausted and burnt out medical personnel and frustrated patients forced to endure long waiting times or travel long distances for specialist care.
Recent debate over newly graduated doctors leaving compulsory government service after paying financial penalties has exposed an uncomfortable truth.
Long working hours, chronic understaffing, administrative burdens and burnout continue to drive young physicians away from public hospitals, despite years of state investment in their education. Unless those underlying conditions are addressed, producing more graduates will simply replenish a public sector workforce that continues to haemorrhage talent.
That reality also explains why senior doctors are urging the government to pause and reassess its expansion plans. Their concern is not about producing more doctors, but about ensuring expansion does not outpace the country's capacity to train them properly.
Competent physicians cannot be produced simply by expanding lecture halls. Clinical education depends on experienced faculty, accredited teaching hospitals, adequate patient exposure and close supervision over years of practical training. Stretching them too thin would inevitably compromise the quality of medical education and, ultimately, patient safety.
The issue, therefore, is not whether Rajabhat universities or any other institutions should be allowed to offer medical degrees. The more fundamental question is whether every new programme can meet the rigorous standards expected of one of society's most demanding professions.
Nor should expanding medical education become a substitute for workforce reform. Thailand needs a national strategy that aligns medical education with healthcare needs. Decisions on opening new medical schools should be guided by transparent assessments of workforce demand, training capacity and long-term service needs, rather than institutional ambitions or political expediency.
Equally important is making public service a career doctors choose to stay in, not leave. Better pay alone will not solve the problem, but neither will increasing enrolment if excessive workloads, inadequate support and limited career prospects continue to drive doctors from state hospitals.
Thailand undoubtedly needs more doctors. But producing more graduates, while failing to retain them or ensure the quality of their training, is no solution. The government must strengthen the public health system and expand medical education in tandem. Otherwise, it risks producing more doctors without solving the shortage where it matters most -- in the country's public hospitals.
