Doctors, nursing assistants to strike over Nursing Act as nurses await fate

A coalition of doctors, nursing assistants and other medical professionals is poised to go on a daylong nationwide general strike this week, as the medical sector remains split over the Nursing Act, which was passed in the National Assembly last month, where the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea holds the majority.

The coalition of 13 medical associations including the Korea Medical Association (KMA) and the Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association said they would go on a one-day nationwide general strike on Wednesday.

This decision follows the International Nurses Day rally on Friday, in which nurses and students from some 200 nursing schools took to Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, calling for the promulgation of the act. The day falls on May 12 each year to honor the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Organizers estimate that 100,000 people attended the rally, while the police estimate 20,000 to 25,000 participants.

Proposed by Rep. Kim Min-seok of the Democratic Party, the Nursing Act is designed to provide a legal basis for nursing services by specifying the roles and responsibilities of professional nurses.

Nurses say that the bill is needed to provide clear guidelines and regulations for nursing as a profession, expand the scope of nursing practices to community-based services such as home care and chronic illness management, and improve nurses’ working conditions, while highlighting the importance of separating their legal roles and responsibilities from those of doctors.

Other medical professionals including doctors, dentists and emergency medical technicians, oppose the bill, claiming that the new law would give more privileges and grant authority to nurses. They fear allowing nurses to visit patients and provide independent services would cause confusion in the medical community. Doctors argue that the bill will give legal grounds for nurses to open their own independent clinics.

The bill was sent to the government on May 4 for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s final approval, and the decision is expected to be made during this week’s Cabinet meeting. The official deadline for Yoon’s decision is Friday.