Differences in Views Over 'PA Nurse Legalization'
Ruling Party: "Can Support Medical Care If Certain Conditions Are Met"
Opposition: "Must Have the Right to Refuse Unfair Orders"
The first bill review of the 22nd National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee brought the Democratic Party of Korea's 'Nurse Act' and the People Power Party's 'Nurses Act' into the spotlight. The Nurse Act and the Nurses Act are bills adopted as party platforms by the Democratic Party and the People Power Party, respectively, and a struggle is expected over which side will hold the key to nursing legislation.
The first subcommittee for bill review of the Health and Welfare Committee has been discussing and jointly reviewing the Nurse Act bill, led by Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Seon-woo, the Act on Nurses, etc., led by People Power Party floor leader Chu Kyung-ho, and another Nurse Act bill led by Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Su-jin, in that order, since 3 p.m. on the 22nd. The bills by lawmakers Kang and Chu, which are mainly compared, differ in detailed contents such as the scope of nurses' duties and the legalization of PA (Physician Assistant) nurses.
On May 12, 2023, International Nurses Day, nurses attending the commemorative celebration held on Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul, raised placards and shouted slogans urging the enactment of the Nursing Act. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@
The most divergent issue is the 'legalization of PA nurses.' Chu's Nurses Act stipulates that "nurses who meet certain requirements may perform duties related to medical support under the comprehensive guidance or delegation of a physician after the physician's professional judgment on examination, diagnosis, treatment, medication, and procedures." This means that certain nurses can be delegated some physician duties and perform them directly. On the other hand, the Nurse Act does not legalize PA nurses. Lawmaker Kang rather specified in the Nurse Act the "right of nurses and others to justifiably refuse instructions such as unlicensed medical acts."
Another major issue is how to define the scope of "medical support performed under the guidance of physicians, dentists, or oriental medicine doctors" by nurses. Kang's Nurse Act stipulates that the scope and limits of related duties shall be determined by presidential decree. Chu's Nurses Act regards medical support duties as nursing duties without other conditions. Both bills commonly include nursing duties such as ▲observing patients' nursing needs ▲collecting data ▲nursing judgment and care for convalescence ▲planning and performing health promotion activities ▲guidance on assisting nursing assistants.
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