Prospects for Passage in the Plenary Session After Welfare Committee and Legislation Committee Meetings on the 28th
Educational Requirements for Nursing Assistants Removed from the Bill
The Nursing Act bill passed the subcommittee of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee on the 27th. The scope of work for Physician Assistant (PA) nurses will be determined by enforcement ordinances.
Park Min-su, the 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, is reviewing documents at the 1st Subcommittee of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee held on the night of the 27th at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, to examine the nursing bill, a contentious issue between the ruling and opposition parties. (Photo by Yonhap News)
The Health and Welfare Committee held the first bill review subcommittee meeting from around 7 p.m. that day and processed the Nursing Act bill.
The Nursing Act bill aims to legally protect the medical acts of PA nurses.
The government’s revised bill, which passed the subcommittee, reflected the opposition party’s position by stipulating that the scope of PA nurses’ duties be defined by enforcement ordinances.
The People Power Party has insisted on explicitly stating the scope of PA nurses’ duties as "examination, diagnosis, treatment, medication, and procedures."
Another contentious issue, the educational requirements for nursing assistants, was excluded from the bill and will be subject to further discussion as reflected in the attached opinion.
The ruling party proposed expanding the educational qualifications for nursing assistant exam applicants to include not only specialized high schools and academies but also graduates of junior colleges, but the opposition party opposed this.
With the bill passing the subcommittee through bipartisan agreement on the day, it is expected to be finally processed at the plenary session scheduled for the afternoon of the 28th after going through the full Health and Welfare Committee meeting and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.
Previously, the ruling and opposition parties had been discussing the Nursing Act in the Health and Welfare Committee but faced difficulties due to disagreements over the scope of PA nurses’ duties.
Public opinion calling for the passage of the Nursing Act increased as the Health and Medical Workers' Union announced a strike on the 29th, and the ruling and opposition parties attempted to resolve the issues by holding the Health and Welfare Committee bill subcommittee meeting late into the afternoon that day.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
