Nurses Burdened with Work Following Collective Resignation of Residents

As the medical field experiences a work gap due to the collective resignation of residents, nurses are taking over the duties of interns and residents.

According to the Korean Nurses Association, as of 6 p.m. on the 22nd, a total of 134 reports have been received at the 'On-site Nurse Difficulty Reporting Center' operated by the association.

The association began accepting reports of on-site nurse difficulties related to the medical gap caused by resident resignations on the same day at 6 p.m., following the residents' work stoppage at 6 a.m. on the 20th.

The association stated that not only physician assistant (PA) nurses who shared doctors' duties but also general nurses have submitted a considerable number of reports.

According to the reported cases, at one hospital, nurses were instructed to perform chemoport injection and removal procedures for cancer patients, as well as blood transfusions and medication prescriptions using a professor's ID. A chemoport is an implantable drug delivery device inserted into a patient's vein to administer anticancer drugs, contrast agents, and others. The insertion and removal procedures must be performed by a doctor. Medication prescriptions must also be done by a doctor.

In the event of a CPR situation in the ward, nurses were notified to perform chest compressions on patients and hold on until the doctor arrives. At another hospital, nurses were assigned the task of explaining surgeries to patients and preparing consent forms.

A nurse who reported to the association said, "PA nurses explain surgeries, and doctors only sign afterward," adding, "I have also had to write medical records, prescribe, and remove catheters, which were previously done by residents."

While nurses acknowledge that increased workload to minimize medical disruptions is inevitable, they are seriously concerned about being forced into illegal medical practices.

The Korean Nurses Association plans to hold a press conference at the Korean Nurses Association Seoul Training Center on the 23rd to raise awareness about the reality faced by nurses exposed to illegal medical practices due to doctors' collective actions.

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