"Expanding PA Nurses' Duties Will Cause Medical Collapse... Threatening Public Health and Life"

Medical organizations have called for the suspension of the enforcement decree and enforcement rules of the 'Nursing Act,' which include expanding the scope of practice for Physician Assistant (PA) nurses.

Yonhap News

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The National Association of Metropolitan and Provincial Medical Association Presidents issued a statement on the 12th, criticizing, "The enforcement rules of the Nursing Act irresponsibly undermine the boundaries between professional medical roles, shaking the foundation of the healthcare system," and warned that "it could completely collapse the medical system."

PA nurses are personnel who perform some medical tasks on behalf of doctors in clinical settings, such as special tests or procedures. They have been utilized as substitute personnel for residents in medical institutions facing doctor shortages, but due to the lack of separate regulations under the Medical Service Act, they have operated in an unstable position, effectively performing illegal tasks. However, after residents collectively resigned amid medical-government conflicts in February last year, the government conducted a pilot project legally protecting PA nurses to fill the medical gap, and subsequently decided to guarantee their legal status through the enactment of the Nursing Act.

The association stated, "Allowing PA nurses to perform tasks that were previously assigned based on specialty expertise even within the same medical profession will promote substandard medical care," and questioned, "The scope of PA nurses' duties should be determined through the education and qualification exams they receive, but have they truly obtained certified education and qualifications?" They added, "If not, granting them the same authority as specialists who have undergone over ten years of medical education, clinical practice, and training is absolutely unjustifiable."

The association also warned, "The government must immediately halt the enactment of the Nursing Act enforcement rules that will collapse the medical system," and cautioned, "Otherwise, not only residents and medical students but all healthcare professionals, including doctors, will rise up in protest." They continued, "The government must make every possible effort to restore the return of medical students and residents, the first step to restoring the healthcare system," and declared, "We will no longer tolerate the threat to public health and life caused by the government's misjudgment by non-experts."

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to announce the enforcement rules of the Nursing Act, detailing the specific scope of PA nurses' duties, within this month ahead of the Nursing Act's implementation in June. The scope of PA nurses' duties is likely to include high-level tasks such as endotracheal intubation and lumbar puncture, which they performed during the pilot project period.

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