High risk, no reward for PA nurses

[Anchor]

PA nurses, who assist doctors, are supporting medical care under the delegation of physicians.

There are over 50,000 PA nurses nationwide filling the medical gap left by departing residents.

Since the conflict between the medical community began last February, the government has started a pilot project for PA nurses.

They are responsible for various tasks, including tests, prescriptions, and writing medical records, as well as some medical procedures previously performed by doctors, such as skin suturing and incisions.

With the nursing law set to take effect in June, the medical practices of PA nurses will be legally protected.

However, the lack of clarity regarding the scope of PA nurses' duties has led to ongoing confusion in the field.

Reporter Jin Sun-min has the story.

[Report]

This PA nurse is working at a university hospital.

She complains that her workload has significantly increased since the residents resigned.

[University Hospital PA Nurse/Voice Altered: "I have taken on the roles of interns and residents, handling almost all the responsibilities of doctors, such as obtaining consent, patient prescriptions, explaining conditions, and interviewing guardians..."]

They are often thrown into work without sufficient training.

Due to the unclear scope of their duties, they are sometimes pressured to take on tasks they are not supposed to handle.

[University Hospital PA Nurse/Voice Altered: "I know that only doctors should handle things like advance directives or DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) orders, but there are surprisingly many cases where we are asked to do that..."]

It is also unclear who should be held responsible in the event of a medical accident.

[Kim Joo-hee/Nurse: "When nurses are pushed by the hospital to work, and a problem arises, it seems that only the nurses who worked are held accountable..."]

There is a lot of work and a heavy burden, but there is no significant compensation.

Last year, 1 in 10 PA nurses deployed to hospitals nationwide due to the medical gap received a mere 100,000 won in government support.

The maximum they received was only 400,000 won.

[Kim Jung-mi/Member of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's 'Consultative Group for Institutionalizing Physician Assistant Work': "There must be improvements in treatment. The actions are performed by nurses, but who ultimately benefits from the revenue? That is something we need to address moving forward..."]

Ahead of the nursing law's implementation in June, the Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to establish enforcement rules defining the scope of PA nurses' duties as early as this month.

However, significant challenges are expected due to opposition from other professional groups, including doctors, nursing assistants, and radiologists.

This is KBS News, Jin Sun-min.