요양간호의 유형별 주의의무

Abstract

Under the medical law, nursing services in South Korea are defined as follows: "Duties of nurses include nursing for the recovery of the sick and injured or women after giving birth, assisting medical treatments, and doing health care activities under Presidential Executive Order." Therefore, aged care is classified as an important task for nurses. In this study, focusing on precedents in Japan, we examined different types of duty of care in aged care by grouping the different kinds of nursing services as follows: convalescence guidance, condition monitoring, communication with doctors, and patient/environmental management. Under the current medical law in South Korea, the legal basis of the nursing practice is insufficient; the definition of work for nurses only is ambiguous. Furthermore, the law may place not only nurses, care workers, and caregivers, but also patients at risk because there is no legal provision for care workers and caregivers. In addition, legal provisions related to nursing do not reflect the uniqueness and characteristics of nursing, and its meaning and role are simply prescribed in a subordinate and auxiliary way. The provisions of the medical law are uncertain, and thus it does not provide the appropriate medical services that patients need. As nurses' and care workers' fields to independently perform medical services for patients and roles for aged care have been increasing, there is a need to enact an independent law for nurses and care workers that reflects the characteristics of each of them. Currently, unlike Japan, there is no separate nursing legislation in South Korea. The medical law prescribes tasks, qualifications, and positions of nurses. If an accident occurs while nurses, care workers, or caregivers are doing their work, there is no choice but to rely on precedents in the absence of clear rules. Thus, firstly, we propose a method to compare cases occurring in South Korea to precedents in Japan and apply them in order to solve the problem of current accidents related to aged care. Secondly, we propose defining the work scope and the responsibility of nurses, care workers, and caregivers through the enactment of a separate nursing Act. Thirdly, we propose establishing additional provisions for concrete definition and liabilities in terms of nurses' tasks that are defined in the current medical law, and stipulating the details regarding care workers and caregivers. By practicing these suggestions, it should be possible to prevent accidents related to aged care and to clarify the legal liabilities. In consequence, the legal system of related regulations for aged care that forms an important part of medical services would be more robust.