Ahead of the Nursing Act... 'Medical Support' Nurses Increase by 60% Over 5 Months

Starting February, 'Pilot Project on Nurse Work-Related Tasks' Implemented
Nursing Act Passed... Government Preparing for Implementation Around June Next Year

Following the enactment of the Nursing Act, which legally allows Physician Assistant (PA) nurses to perform some of the duties of doctors, the number of PA nurses has increased by 60% over the past five months.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 30th, the 'Pilot Project Related to Nurses' Duties,' which allows nurses to perform some of the doctors' tasks, started at the end of February with about 10,000 PA nurses, but by the end of last month, the number had risen to around 16,000.

On the 28th, when the Nursing Act bill, which aims to legally protect the medical acts of Physician Assistant (PA) nurses, passed the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, nurses were walking in a large hospital in Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has been implementing the 'Pilot Project Related to Nurses' Duties' allowing PA work since February this year, following collective resignation of residents and other doctor collective actions. PA nurses have emerged spontaneously over the past 20 years, when there was no legal framework, to address the shortage of doctors and have supported doctors in medical treatment and surgeries.

The Ministry plans to supplement guidelines to ensure the Nursing Act, scheduled to be enforced around June next year, is applied smoothly in the field, and to clearly and rationally divide the duties between doctors and nurses by specifying the content and standards of PA work in subordinate legislation.

In this regard, the Ministry will explicitly regulate that acts such as 'diagnosis, prescription of specialized medicines, and surgery' are not permitted for nurses.

Kim Guk-il, Director of Health and Medical Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, "The institutionalization of PA nurses does not mean that nurses can perform independent medical acts." He added, "Tasks requiring high-level expertise and judgment, such as diagnosis, prescription, and surgery, are the exclusive duties of doctors." He continued, "When setting specific standards and content for PA work, we will continuously communicate with medical experts to ensure that the healthcare collaboration structure is established without any issues."