First Step in Establishing a 'Comprehensive Support Plan for Nursing Staff'... First Meeting of Welfare Ministry and Nursing Sector Consultative Body

Final Measures Announcement for International Nurses Day in May

Park Min-su, the 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, is inspecting the Nursing Talent Development Center at the Central Veterans Hospital on the 7th.
[Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 7th that it held the first meeting of the '2nd Comprehensive Plan for Nursing Workforce Support Establishment Council.'

The 2nd Comprehensive Plan for Nursing Workforce Support is the second plan established in the nursing workforce sector since the 'Measures to Improve Nurses' Working Environment and Treatment' announced in 2018. Since the first comprehensive plan, some improvements have been made, such as establishing the education-dedicated nurse system and increasing the activity rate of nurses in medical institutions, but the nurse turnover rate remains high, and the supply and demand difficulties for nurses in essential medical fields, local areas, and small to medium-sized hospitals continue. In particular, during the COVID-19 response process, issues such as workforce exhaustion due to excessive workload and a shortage of experienced nurses have been continuously raised.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to prepare an overall improvement plan in this 2nd comprehensive plan that organically links various policies and systems so that high-quality nursing personnel are properly trained in the necessary scale in essential medical fields and can work long-term in a working environment that allows appropriate labor.

To this end, the plan is to secure nurses in essential medical fields by expanding education-dedicated nurses in intensive care units, emergency rooms, and pediatric fields, and reforming the nursing grade system, while strengthening the education and field adaptation foundation from universities to clinical sites to cultivate excellent new nurses. Additionally, while preparing measures to improve the treatment of nurses working in small and local hospitals, the plan will also present a future vision for visiting nursing in an aging society.

The council to discuss this will include related ministries such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education, as well as experts from the nursing community, hospital sector, and academia. The government plans to announce the final plan on May 12, International Nurses Day, after collecting broad opinions.

Park Min-soo, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "2023 is a meaningful year marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Nurses Association and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association, making it necessary to present a future vision for nursing workforce policy," adding, "We will systematically cultivate nursing personnel, who are essential personnel in the medical field, and prepare proper nursing workforce support measures by comprehensively linking various systems and health insurance fees to create a working environment where they can work long-term, supporting the government's health care policy direction such as expanding essential medical services."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.