National Petition on Nurses: Half Demand 'Improved Treatment'... Surge in Nurses Leaving Korea Too

Improvement of Work Environment and Treatment for Nursing Professionals Accounts for 49.1%
Average Daily Working Hours Exceed 9 Hours but Break Time is Around 20 Minutes
Number of US Nurse Licensure Exam Candidates Nearly Doubled Compared to Previous Year

Among the nurse-related petitions posted on the Blue House National Petition platform, nearly half demanded improvements in working conditions. The number of nurses leaving Korea due to poor conditions is also steadily increasing.

A nurse preparing for COVID-19 vaccination. The photo is not directly related to the specific content of the article. Photo by Joint Press Corps

According to a paper titled "Analysis of Nurse-Related National Petitions" by a research team from Jeonbuk National University, published in Volume 53, Issue 6 of the Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Science last month, out of 995 nurse-related petitions submitted to the Blue House National Petition platform, 49.1% were requests for "improvements in the working environment and treatment of nursing professionals." This was followed by "clear role definitions among medical-related occupations and demands for their legalization" (21.8%) and "patients' appeals regarding medical accidents and negligence, and demands for improvements in inadequate medical services" (16.3%). The Blue House National Petition platform operated from August 2017 to May 2022.

One of the main reasons why petitions for improved treatment accounted for nearly half is the excessive working hours of nurses. Hospital nurses work more than 9 hours a day on average, but their break time is only about 20 minutes. According to a study by Deputy Researcher Yang Yujin titled "Factors Influencing Nurse Mobility and Improvement Measures," published in the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service's webzine "Issue & View" in November last year, a survey conducted from August to September 2022 targeting 1,645 currently employed nurses at hospital-level or higher medical institutions found that the average working hours of nurses were 9.3 hours per day, with an average break time of 22 minutes.

Among 16 items for improving working conditions, 15 items received high demands of 4 points or more (out of 5), including salary increases (4.6 points), strengthening nursing-related fees (4.6 points), increasing nursing staff (4.5 points), activation of leave systems for recharging (4.5 points), and management of nurses' health and stress (4.5 points). Notably, 53.5% of responding nurses expressed an intention to move (change jobs, take leave, or resign) within six months. Deputy Researcher Yang stated, "The government should actively implement and strengthen the effectiveness of measures to improve nurses' working environments and treatment, and medical institutions need to make efforts and conduct inspections to comply with labor laws."

Thousands of nurses leave Korea every year due to poor treatment. According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) in the United States on the 19th, 2,712 Koreans took the NCLEX, the U.S. nursing licensure exam, up to the third quarter (January to September) last year. The growth rate is also rapid. Even without including the fourth quarter, the number of examinees already reached 1.5 times that of the previous year's 1,816. The cumulative number of examinees up to the third quarter last year ranked third among all countries. Only the Philippines (26,972) and India (5,123) produced more examinees than Korea.

Baek Chanki, Director of Public Relations at the Korean Nurses Association, said, "The average number of patients per nurse is about 5.4 in the U.S. and around 7 in Japan. However, in Korea, even if the legal ratio is maintained, it is about 12 patients per nurse, and even that is often not properly observed. Because of the high patient load, nurses often have to finish lunch within 20 minutes, and handovers extend working hours." He added, "In the U.S., nurses are recognized and treated as professionals. The lower patient load means less work intensity, but salaries are higher, which seems to be why more nurses are taking the NCLEX."