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| A coalition of medical workers including the Korean Medical Association holds a press conference in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday, calling on lawmakers to retract the proposed Nursing Act. Yonhap |
By Lee Hyo-jin
Doctors have warned they will stage a strike in protest of the proposed legislation of the Nursing Act ― a new set of laws that stipulate the roles and duties of licensed nurses ― as they view it may cause confusion in the public healthcare system if passed.
The Korea Medical Association (KMA) held a press conference in front of the National Assembly, Monday, to condemn the lawmakers' recent decision to fast-track the Nursing Act.
On Feb. 9, the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee voted to fast-track the Nursing Act, which had been stalled at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee for over eight months, to the main floor for a plenary session.
Considering that the Nursing Act has garnered support from lawmakers from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which controls more than half of the 300-seat Assembly, the bill is likely to be passed at the plenary session in March.
"Beginning with a nationwide rally scheduled for Feb. 26, our 100,000 members will take all possible measures to fight against the unjust laws. We are holding weekly meetings to come up with a concrete roadmap for the joint action," said Lee Pil-soo, head of the KMA.
In response to a query whether the association is considering to launch a strike, Lee said, "We will review staging a walkout depending on how the situation develops."
Joining the protest were other medical workers such as care workers at nursing homes, assistant nurses and paramedics. They believe that the legislation of the Nursing Act will put nurses in a higher position than them, leading to situations in which they will have to take orders from nurses.
The Korea Nurses Association (KNA) has been strongly demanding the legislation of the law, which aims to designate the roles and duties of nurses by law. The association said nurses have long been suffering from poor working conditions due to the absence of a separate law stipulating the specific roles and duties of professional nurses.
Currently, the legal role of a nurse is stipulated in the Medical Services Act, which states that they should provide healthcare services "under the guidance of physicians." But according to the nurses' group, ambiguities in the law force many nurses to perform duties outside their job descriptions, often leading to overwork and difficulties providing quality care for patients.
On the other hand, doctors worry that the law may allow nurses to intervene in the duties of physicians. They have also been claiming that the bills are aimed only at providing benefits to nurses, offering privileges only to a certain group of medical professionals.
During Monday's press conference, the doctors also cried foul over the health and welfare committee's decision to fast-track a revision bill to the Medical Law, aimed at enabling disqualification of physicians who are sentenced to serve time in prison. Under current laws, mental illness, drug addiction, license fraud and fraudulent diagnosis are considered valid reasons to nullify a doctor's license.
But following an increasing number of doctors being accused of serious crimes such as sex offenses against patients, calls have been rising for harsher laws to prevent crime-committing doctors from practicing medicine.
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