Kwak Ji-yeon, President of the Korean Assistant Nurses Association, KBS Interview
"To Take the Assistant Nurse Exam, You Need to Attend Academy Again"
Establishment of University Assistant Nurse Departments Also a Key Issue
The conflict between nursing organizations demanding the enactment of the Nursing Act and opposing groups such as doctors and nursing assistants has not been resolved. In particular, nursing assistant organizations claim that the proposed Nursing Act is a "law that discriminates against nursing assistants."
On the 24th, Kwak Ji-yeon, president of the Korea Nursing Assistant Association, said in an interview with KBS Radio, "Even if there is currently a nursing practice department at universities, those who studied there still have to attend an academy again to qualify as nursing assistants," adding, "That is too unfair and unreasonable."
The issue lies in the part of the Nursing Act that carries over the current Medical Service Act's restrictions on qualifications for nursing assistant applicants. The current Medical Service Act stipulates that nursing assistant applicants must be "graduates of specialized high schools with nursing-related departments" or "high school graduates who have completed nursing assistant-related academy education," but nursing assistants argue that these qualification restrictions solidify a hierarchy between nurses and nursing assistants.
On the afternoon of the 11th, when doctors and nursing assistants opposing the enforcement of the Nursing Act launched a second partial strike, participants held placards and shouted slogans at the "Second Nationwide Leave Struggle Rally for the Abolition of the Nursing Act and License Revocation Act" held near the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]
There is no regulation in the current law that prohibits university graduates from taking the nursing assistant exam. However, university graduates must complete a training course at a nursing academy to become nursing assistants. The Nursing Association counters that the Nursing Act merely adopts the current law, but the Nursing Assistant Association's position is that they cannot agree to the enactment of the Nursing Act without revising or supplementing these provisions.
The restriction on nursing assistant exam qualifications is also related to the issue of establishing nursing assistant-related departments at junior colleges. The Nursing Assistant Association has long demanded the establishment of nursing assistant-related departments at universities, but the Nursing Association and others have opposed this, citing potential confusion in medical settings.
Regarding this, President Kwak said, "The Nursing Association says that becoming a nursing assistant is just an easier path to becoming a nurse and questions the necessity of nursing assistant departments, but that is a somewhat dangerous statement," adding, "It is not that those who graduate from universities necessarily have higher capabilities; people should have the choice to study at universities, academies, or specialized high schools."
She emphasized, "Not all nursing personnel in our country can be composed solely of nurses," but "even though it is the Nursing Act, it contains provisions only for nurses and especially unconstitutional elements against nursing assistants, so we absolutely cannot support it."
Meanwhile, the ruling and opposition parties have agreed to attempt renegotiations on the Nursing Act, which was expected to be discarded following President Yoon's veto. This appears to be an effort to devise a new compromise rather than completely nullifying the Nursing Act.
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