Korean Nurses Association "Supports Government Medical Reform"... Also Promotes Enactment of Nursing Act

Positive Response to Pilot Project on Nurse Duties
"We Will Do Our Best to Enact the Nursing Act"

The nursing community expressed a welcoming stance toward the government's pilot project related to nurses' duties and stated their support for the government's healthcare reform.

The Korean Nurses Association (KNA) announced this in a statement on the 28th. The KNA said, "Health and life are invaluable values that cannot be exchanged for anything else, and healthcare professionals who protect these are people who practice the noble value of safeguarding others' lives." They added, "Currently, Korean society is facing a painful and extremely chaotic situation where patients' health and lives are threatened due to inadequate treatment, and beloved families are falling apart."

They continued, "In medical settings abandoned by doctors, nurses are quietly standing by patients. This chaotic situation, where the central axis of healthcare has disappeared due to doctors' irresponsibility, demands the dedication of nurses."

Regarding the government's pilot project related to nurses' duties, they expressed a welcoming attitude. The KNA stated, "After residents left the medical field, we view positively the government's initiative to establish a protection system for nurses through the pilot project related to nurses' duties," and added, "We hope this measure will not remain a pilot project but will later be institutionalized by law to protect nurses in medical settings."

They also showed support for the government's policies. The KNA urged the government to "actively engage in healthcare reform to protect the health and lives of the people despite difficulties," and stated, "We will actively participate in the government's policies for healthcare reform."

Along with this, they announced plans to re-push the enactment of the Nursing Act, which was stalled last year. On the morning of the same day, the KNA held the 93rd regular general assembly at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Tak Young-ran, president of the KNA, said, "In 2024, we will do our best to enact the Nursing Act while successfully concluding the 100th anniversary of the association's founding and devote efforts to enhancing the status of Korean nursing, leading global nursing."