Ministry of Health and Welfare Expects Enhanced Patient Safety
and Better Work-Life Balance for Nurses
A pilot project aimed at establishing a regular nurse shift system and building a systematic nursing education system will be launched starting September 1.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on August 31 that it has selected 94 medical institutions to participate in the “Second Pilot Project to Improve the Nurse Shift System.”
The pilot project to improve the nurse shift system began its first phase in April 2022 to promote work-life balance for nurses, and currently, a total of 79 medical institutions are participating. Over the approximately three years and four months of the pilot period, the project supported a total of 96 institutions, 397 wards, and 1,253 nurses.
The first pilot project required participation at a minimum of two wards per institution. It provided support for hiring substitute nurses and ward staff to cover emergency absences such as sick leave or family events, as well as “nurse educators” to help new nurses adapt to clinical settings. The project has been evaluated as contributing to a stable working environment and enhancing educational capacity for nursing staff.
As a result of the pilot project, the rate at which nurses adhered to planned work schedules increased from 94.7% in the second half of 2022 to 98.3% in the first half of 2024. Meanwhile, the turnover rate for new nurses dropped from 15.7% to 10.6% over the same period, and the retention rate for experienced nurses rose from 53.0% to 56.5%, indicating significant achievements.
The second pilot project will involve a total of 94 institutions, selected based on criteria such as nursing grade, number of nurses in general wards, plans to transition to substitute nurse teams, and project effectiveness. This includes 41 tertiary general hospitals, 47 general hospitals, and 6 hospitals, with 70 of these being institutions that participated in the first phase.
The second phase expands the scope from ward-level participation to include all wards in each medical institution, in order to spread the benefits of the first phase throughout entire hospitals. However, considering the current administrative environment, which is accustomed to ward-based management, only 50% of beds in general wards will be allowed to participate until June next year. Institutions continuing the first pilot project may apply the first phase criteria until the end of this year.
The salary support standard for substitute nurses has increased by about 3% compared to the first phase, now set at 40.96 million won for tertiary general hospitals and 46.81 million won for general hospitals (up from 39.77 million won and 45.45 million won, respectively). In addition, the eligibility criteria have been relaxed for medically underserved areas, military regions, and public medical institutions, allowing those with nursing grades 2 to 4 to participate. For these institutions, nursing staff salaries will be increased by 10% to lower the barrier to entry.
Park Hyerin, Director of the Nursing Policy Division at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, “Through the pilot project to improve the nurse shift system, we hope to enhance the quality of nurses’ work and contribute to patient safety through regular shifts and systematic education.” She added, “Given the high demand and satisfaction from the field, we will closely review the necessity and effectiveness of the pilot project and strive to transition to a full-scale program by 2028.”
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