Nursing Schools to Increase Enrollment Following Medical Schools... Expected 1,000 More Students by 2025

Formation of Nursing Workforce Expert Committee under Bojeongshim
Clinical Nursing Staff Shortage Compared to OECD Average
Temperature Difference with KMA Opposing Medical School Expansion

The government, which is promoting an increase in medical school admission quotas for the 2025 academic year, has initiated procedures to increase nursing college admission quotas due to a shortage of clinical nursing staff caring for patients on the front lines.

According to the announcement made by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) on the 1st, the Ministry has formed a "Nursing Workforce Expert Committee" under the Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee (HMPDC) and held the first meeting to decide the nursing college admission quotas. The committee is chaired by the Director-General of the Health and Medical Policy Office of the Ministry and consists of 14 experts from various fields, including government members, nursing college professors, clinical nurses, and consumer groups.

At the first meeting, the committee evaluated the progress and effects of the nursing workforce supply and demand policy based on the nursing college quotas that have been increased so far and discussed future committee operation plans. The committee aims to increase the quota by about 1,000 students annually starting from the 2025 academic year and is expected to hold biweekly meetings until early December to continue discussions.

They also plan to refine the method of allocating quotas by university and report to the HMPDC by the end of this year, then notify the Ministry of Education.

Nursing College Quotas: 11,686 in 2008 → 23,183 in 2023... 1.98 Times Increase

Previously, nursing college admission quotas have been steadily increasing. Compared to 16 years ago, the number has more than doubled. The nursing college quota was 11,686 in 2008 and increased 1.98 times to 23,183 this year.

In particular, since 2019, the government has increased the nationwide nursing college admission quota by 700 students annually compared to the previous year. Accordingly, the number of clinically active nurses per 1,000 population also increased from 2.16 in 2008 to 5.02 this year, a 2.32-fold increase.

However, clinical nurses working in medical institutions are still significantly insufficient compared to other countries. The average number of clinical nurses per 1,000 population in OECD countries is 8.0, but Korea has only 4.94.

A bigger problem is that although many hold nursing licenses, only about half actually work in medical institutions. Last year, there were approximately 481,000 licensed nurses, but only 52.6% (254,000) were clinical nurses. Among OECD countries, the ratio of clinical nurses to licensed nurses is among the lowest.

Including nurses working in related health and medical institutions such as nursing public officials, 119 fire brigades, and long-term care facilities, the overall nursing activity rate is about 73%.

A representative from the Korean Nurses Association emphasized, "While it is necessary to increase nursing college admission quotas, to solve the chronic nurse shortage problem, it is essential not only to increase new graduates but also to improve nurse staffing standards and working conditions."

Accordingly, the government estimates that if the nursing workload is reduced to 80% of the current level, about 56,000 nurses will be lacking by 2035. They plan to create policies to prevent nurse attrition through improving working conditions along with increasing nursing college admission quotas.

Considering this situation, the nursing college quota for the 2025 academic year is expected to increase by about 1,000 students, exceeding the previous growth rate.

A Ministry official said, "Based on scientific evidence, we believe a larger increase in quotas than recently implemented is necessary," adding, "We will discuss a long-term quota expansion plan, and we think the quota should be increased for at least five years."

Korean Medical Association Opposes Medical School Quota Expansion, Korean Nurses Association Agrees on Need for Quota Increase

Meanwhile, the government is also conducting discussions on medical school quota expansion through the Medical Workforce Expert Committee under the HMPDC. There is a significant difference in perspectives between the Korean Medical Association (KMA) and the Korean Nurses Association (KNA) regarding the quota expansion discussions.

The KMA insists that the medical issue consultation body, a bilateral consultation framework between the KMA and the government, should lead the discussions, while the KNA requests that nurses' opinions be reflected through the HMPDC, which includes participation from civic groups.

While the KMA opposes expanding medical school quotas, both the government and the nursing community agree on the necessity of increasing nursing college quotas.

Jeon Byung-wang, Director-General of the Health and Medical Policy Office, who presided over the meeting, said, "Starting with this Nursing Workforce Expert Committee, we will promote nursing workforce supply and demand policies based on scientific evidence and social consensus," and added, "The government will faithfully implement the '2nd Comprehensive Nursing Workforce Support Plan' and make every effort to improve nurses' working conditions."

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