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| Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association (KLPNA) President Kwak Ji-yeon, front, is transferred to a hospital from the association's sit-in protest tent in front of the National Assembly, ending a six-day hunger strike to protest the Nursing Act upon the persuasion of Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong, second from right, Sunday. Courtesy of Ministry of Health and Welfare |
By Lee Hae-rin
Tension within the country's medical community is growing as doctors, nursing assistants and various other medical workers announce a joint strike in protest of the recently passed Nursing Act, which they claim privileges nurses unfairly.
Starting Wednesday, a coalition of 13 medical workers' organizations including the Korea Medical Association (KMA) and the Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association (KLPNA), both in opposition to the Nursing Act legislation, have decided to go on strike, a KMA official told The Korea Times, Monday.
The coalition will also hold rallies on Tuesday in front of the National Assembly in Seoul and the Incheon office of Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), to condemn the DPK, which controls more than half of the 300-seat Assembly, for passing the bill.
The anticipated impact of the strike on the country's health care system is minimal as the medical workers will only partially join the strike for certain periods during the day, either in the morning or the afternoon. However, the long-standing conflict within the medical community shows no signs of resolution.
The Nursing Act, which aims to improve nurses' working conditions and clarify the scope of their duties independently from the existing Medical Services Act, has increased clashes within medical circles and among the rival parties regarding its legislation, which was passed at the National Assembly's plenary session last Thursday.
The Korea Nurses Association (KNA) has been strongly advocating the legislation of the bill for years, calling for improvements in their working conditions, citing the lack of a separate law stipulating their roles and duties. Currently, the Medical Services Act stipulates the legal roles of nurses.
However, the bill faced fierce opposition from other medical groups including doctors, nursing assistants and paramedics and the ruling People Power Party (PPP), claiming that it favors a certain professional group and will create new conflicts in the health care system.
The Nursing Act contains a provision that broadens the scope of nurses' responsibilities from medical institutions to community and public health, in response to the ramifications of an aging population.
However, the doctors' group is concerned that the legislation may enable nurses to intervene in the duties of other medical workers and give privileges to nurses over other medical professionals.
Nursing assistants also claimed they could suffer discrimination in recruitment if the new law comes into effect, as it will put the nursing assistants under the supervision of nurses.
On Sunday, Kwak Ji-yeon, the president of the Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association (KLPNA), which is the interest group of nursing assistants taking part in the anti-legislation coalition, was transferred to a hospital from the group's sit-in protest tent after a six-day hunger strike.
During his visit to the KLPNA's tent that day, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong expressed regrets over the "lack of consensus on the Nursing Act among the nursing workforce," which he said threatens trust and cooperation between different professions. Then he convinced Kwak to halt the hunger strike and seek medical treatment at a hospital.
The opposition groups have been demanding President Yoon Suk Yeol exercise his veto power against the legislation. The KNA plans to hold a demonstration in front of the presidential office in Yongsan District, Tuesday morning, to urge Yoon, who returned to the country on Sunday from a six-day state visited to Washington, D.C.
Korea's Constitution allows the president to veto a bill within 15 days after its passage at the National Assembly. Yoon exercised his veto power for the first time earlier last month against a bill requiring the government to purchase surplus rice.
The health ministry has been proposing policies to improve nurses' working conditions, such as aiming for the standard of one nurse for every five patients on average and providing support funds to hospitals that recruit more nurses to downgrade their heavy workload.
According to statistics, the average number of patients per nurse in high-level general hospitals in Korea is 16.3, which is notably higher than the figures in Japan (7) and the United States (5.3).
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