Medical licensing examination () and the world of the physician officers () in Korea’s Joseon Dynasty
Physicians for ordinary people in Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) did not need to pass the national medical licensing examination. They were able to work after a sufficient apprenticeship period. Only physician officers were licensed as technical civil servants. These physician officers were midd...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute
2015-05-01
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| Series: | Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.jeehp.org/upload/pdf/jeehp-12-16.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827246740504313856 |
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| author | Nam Hee Lee |
| author_facet | Nam Hee Lee |
| author_sort | Nam Hee Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Physicians for ordinary people in Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) did not need to pass the national medical licensing examination. They were able to work after a sufficient apprenticeship period. Only physician officers were licensed as technical civil servants. These physician officers were middle class, located socially between the nobility and the commoner. They had to pass a national licensing examination to be considered for high-ranking physician officer positions, that is, those at the rank equal to or above the 6th level out of a total of 9 ranks, where the first rank was highest. Royal physicians also had to pass this examination before accepting responsibility for the King’s healthcare. This article aims to describe the world of physician officers during the Joseon Dynasty. Physician officers enjoyed considerable social status because they dealt with matters of life and death. Owing to the professional nature of their fields and a strong sense of group identity, they came to compose a distinct social class. The physician officers’ world was marked by strong group allegiances based on shared professional knowledge; the use of marriage to gain and maintain social status; and the establishment of hereditary technical posts within the medical profession that were handed down from one generation to the next. The medical licensing examination persisted until 1894 when the civil service examination agency, of which it was part, was abolished. Until that time, the testing agency, the number of candidates who were accepted, two-step test procedures, and the method of test item selection were maintained and enforced. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T18:57:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7464375cffc444188279e382f308c700 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1975-5937 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-21T23:04:46Z |
| publishDate | 2015-05-01 |
| publisher | Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions |
| spelling | doaj.art-7464375cffc444188279e382f308c7002024-05-22T07:03:15ZengKorea Health Personnel Licensing Examination InstituteJournal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions1975-59372015-05-011210.3352/jeehp.2015.12.16142Medical licensing examination () and the world of the physician officers () in Korea’s Joseon DynastyNam Hee LeePhysicians for ordinary people in Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) did not need to pass the national medical licensing examination. They were able to work after a sufficient apprenticeship period. Only physician officers were licensed as technical civil servants. These physician officers were middle class, located socially between the nobility and the commoner. They had to pass a national licensing examination to be considered for high-ranking physician officer positions, that is, those at the rank equal to or above the 6th level out of a total of 9 ranks, where the first rank was highest. Royal physicians also had to pass this examination before accepting responsibility for the King’s healthcare. This article aims to describe the world of physician officers during the Joseon Dynasty. Physician officers enjoyed considerable social status because they dealt with matters of life and death. Owing to the professional nature of their fields and a strong sense of group identity, they came to compose a distinct social class. The physician officers’ world was marked by strong group allegiances based on shared professional knowledge; the use of marriage to gain and maintain social status; and the establishment of hereditary technical posts within the medical profession that were handed down from one generation to the next. The medical licensing examination persisted until 1894 when the civil service examination agency, of which it was part, was abolished. Until that time, the testing agency, the number of candidates who were accepted, two-step test procedures, and the method of test item selection were maintained and enforced.http://www.jeehp.org/upload/pdf/jeehp-12-16.pdfmedical licensing examinationphysicianmedicinemedical historykorea |
| spellingShingle | Nam Hee Lee Medical licensing examination () and the world of the physician officers () in Korea’s Joseon Dynasty Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions medical licensing examination physician medicine medical history korea |
| title | Medical licensing examination () and the world of the physician officers () in Korea’s Joseon Dynasty |
| title_full | Medical licensing examination () and the world of the physician officers () in Korea’s Joseon Dynasty |
| title_fullStr | Medical licensing examination () and the world of the physician officers () in Korea’s Joseon Dynasty |
| title_full_unstemmed | Medical licensing examination () and the world of the physician officers () in Korea’s Joseon Dynasty |
| title_short | Medical licensing examination () and the world of the physician officers () in Korea’s Joseon Dynasty |
| title_sort | medical licensing examination and the world of the physician officers in korea s joseon dynasty |
| topic | medical licensing examination physician medicine medical history korea |
| url | http://www.jeehp.org/upload/pdf/jeehp-12-16.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT namheelee medicallicensingexaminationandtheworldofthephysicianofficersinkoreasjoseondynasty |