Offense and defense for Nursing Act bill shift after 15 months

As the legislation proposal for the Nursing Act wasn’t passed by the legislation review subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee on Friday, it became unclear whether the bill would be passed during a provisional session in August. The ruling and opposition parties agreed to pass the non-contentious bill during a regular session of the National Assembly next Wednesday.

The ruling and opposition parties haven’t agreed on the bill's key issue, which is the legalization of physician assistants (PAs) that are filling the medical vacuum created by the large-scale resignation of medical interns and residents in February. The ruling party’s proposal states the work scope of nurses in the law, while the opposition party’s proposal suggests it be delegated to a presidential decree. Even regarding the bill's name, the ruling party wants it to be the Nurse Act while the opposition party argues for the Nursing Act.

The Nursing Act was unilaterally passed by the opposition party in April last year, but it was nullified when President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed the bill. Conflicts between physicians and nurses worsened during this process, causing confusion in the medical field. At the time, President Yoon requested the National Assembly to reconsider the bill, saying that such conflicts could have a negative impact on public health. Fifteen months later, however, the ruling and opposition parties shifted offense and defense of the legislation of the bill and are colliding with each other again.

The government and the ruling party changed their stance and pursued the bill's legislation to legalize PAs as the medical vacuum has continued. The Nursing Act bill proposed by the People Power Party in June is similar to the bill vetoed by the president last year, except that its name was the Nurse Act. It is embarrassing that the ruling party came up with the Nurse Act bill due to the medical vacuum after the party had opposed it for a long time. So it is that the opposition party refused to pass the bill quickly after it did pass the bill, saying that it was for public welfare. During the Friday meeting of the legislation review subcommittee, the opposition party opposed the passage of the bill even though the ruling party agreed to the name of the Nurse Act and the government submitted the detailed work scope of nurses.

The Nursing Act aims to clarify the work scope of nurses and ensure a stable supply of nursing labor by improving their compensations in response to the super-aging society and the resulting increase in demand for nurses. In fact, there are currently over 10,000 PAs across the country, even though they are illegal. The system must be revised to suit the reality. The Nursing Act bills proposed by the ruling and opposition parties are similar in their reasons for proposal and content. Such a bill should not be a contentious topic, and the parties should remain consistent with their original stances.