Doctors and nurses battle over proposed bill

South Korea: The Korean Medical Association (KMA) and the Korea Nurses Association (KNA) have been staging multiple rallies over the proposed Nursing Act that is currently being deliberated at the National Assembly.

Proposed by Rep. Kim Min-seok of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, the Nursing Act aims to stipulate the roles and responsibilities of nurses and to provide a legal basis to improve their working conditions.

As it currently stands, the legal role of a nurse as stipulated in the Medical Services Act, designates their roles and duties “under the guidance of physicians.”

The KNA hopes to change the existing law that they believe views nurses as being subordinate to doctors instead of recognizing them as medical professionals. They argue that many nurses are compelled to perform duties outside of their job scope due to ambiguities in the current law.

The nursing association has been fighting for a separate law that defines the legal roles of nurses, hoping to emulate the examples of many OECD nations.

Conversely, the doctors at KMA are adamant that the separate law may allow nurses to overstep their roles, resulting in confusion in the hospitals and even provide a legal basis for nurses to open their own clinics.

Calling the Nursing Act “an evil law”, the KMA maintains that it could harm public health and lead to the collapse of the country’s healthcare system.

“The bills are aimed only at providing benefits to nurses,” said Lee Pil-soo, head of KMA at a rally.

 “It is not appropriate to offer privileges only to a certain group of medical professionals,”

If enacted, they claim, the law would put nurses in a higher position than other medical workers such as assistant nurses, paramedics and care workers at nursing homes.

Meanwhile, the KMA has rallied the support of the Association of Nursing Assistants (ANA) to stage a protest rally to block the bill.

The doctor’s association has warned that should the bills survive the plenary session, its 140,000-strong membership will step up their protests, invoking the nationwide strike organized by doctors in August 2020 in protest against the government’s medical reform bills.

The KNA represents approximately 460,000 licensed nurses across the country.

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.”