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Kim, Chung, Kim, Lee, Hwang, Cho, and Kim: Current Situation and the Forecast of the Supply and Demand of the Nursing Workforce in Korea
Original Research

Korean J Adult Nurs 2013;25(6):701-711.

Published online: 18 December 2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7469/KJAN.2013.25.6.701

Current Situation and the Forecast of the Supply and Demand of the Nursing Workforce in Korea

Boon Han Kim1, Bok Yae Chung2, Jin Kyung Kim3, Ae-young Lee4, Seon Young Hwang1, Joon Ah Cho1, Jung A Kim1,

1College of Nursing, Hanyang University, Seoul

2College of Nursing, Kyungpook National University, Daegu

3Department of Nursing, Gangneung Yeongdong College, Gangneung

4College of Nursing, Sungshin Women's University, Seoul, Korea

Corresponding author: Kim, Jung A College of Nursing, Hanyang University, 17 Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 133-791, Korea. Tel: +82-2-2220-0799, Fax: +82-2-2297-8613, E-mail: joyhippo@hanyang.ac.kr

Received 16 December 201321 December 2013       Accepted 23 December 2013

© 2013 Korean Society of Adult Nursing

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

The plan proposed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2012 did not reflect the position of nurses and focused only on how to increase the number of nurses. There is a need for coming up with a specific and viable alternative plan considering the qualitative aspect of nursing, delegation of nursing tasks, the in-death analysis of the reasons for leaving the nursing profession, and the legal standards based on varying nursing tasks.

Methods

Drawing on a review of existing literature, this report was written to examine policy directions and the factors that influence the institutional environment that regulates the supply and demand of the nursing workforce in Korea.

Results

Implementing the government's plan for introducing a new type of nurse, the registered practical nurse, which generally requires a two-year associate's degree, must be reconsidered. Also, a concrete plan to make use of unemployed nurses and to close the salary gap between nurses working at hospitals in cities and those working at hospitals in rural areas must be prepared. Furthermore, there is a need for introducing a new rating system aimed at boosting the quality of nursing care in small-and medium-sized hospitals, thereby increasing the number of nursing professionals who provide high quality care.

Conclusion

In preparation for expected poor quality of care and looming unemployment crisis due to the increase in the number of nursing professionals, a practical and concrete plan for the supply and demand of the nursing workforce should be made. The Korean Nurses Association should mount a profession-wide campaign to make the government formulate a new and viable policy on the supply and demand of the nursing workforce.

Keywords: Nurses, Health policy, Health resources, Staff development, Review

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Figure 1.
Ratio of nurses to nursing assistants by different types of medical facilities.
kjan-25-701f1.tif
Figure 2.
The salary of new nurses by different types of medical facilities, by regions and by nursing rating.
kjan-25-701f2.tif
Table 1.
Proposed Changes to the Nursing Workforce Structure
Different types of nurses The scope of practice Conditions of eligibility Opportunities for advancement
Registered nurses Independently provide the full range of nursing care
Work under the direction of doctors		 They are required to have four years of college education and hands-on training  
Practical nurses with advanced levels of nursing practice Work as a nursing assistant under the direction of registered nurses
Work as a therapy assistant under the direction of doctors or registered nurses commissioned by doctors
Those working in private doctors' offices can independently perform nursing care under the direction of doctors		 They are required to have two years of college education and hands-on training Those with some nursing experience who complete some education are eligible to take the exam for registered nurses
Practical nurses with entry-level nursing practice Work as a nursing assistant under the direction of registered nurses or work as a therapy assistant under the direction of doctors or registered nurses commissioned by doctors
Those working in private doctors' offices work as a nursing assistant under the direction of registered nurses and practical nurses with an advanced levels of nursing practice or work as a therapy assistant under the direction of doctors or registered nurses and practical nurses with advanced levels of nursing practice commissioned by doctors		 They are required to have a high school diploma and to fulfill educational requirements at institutions designated by the Minister of health and welfare Those with some experience who complete some education are eligible to take the exam for the practical nurses with advanced levels of nursing practice

Source: Ministry of Health and Welfare (2013). Direction for Reorganization of Nursing Staff System in Korea.

Table 2.
Changes in the Composition of the Nursing Workforce by Different Types of Medical Facilities from 2003 to 2011
Variables Categories 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Advanced general hospital RN 19,730 19,967 20,368 21,012 21,293 22,830 23,310 24,761 24,993
NA 3435 3,435 3,437 3,513 3,512 3,514 3,535 3,650 3,565
RN% 85% 85% 86% 86% 86% 87% 87% 87% 88%
General hospital RN 28,543 29,162 30,532 31,418 32,613 33,846 35,073 36,965 38,112
NA 5,843 5,651 5,642 5,632 5,672 5,759 5,691 5,810 5,962
RN% 83% 84% 84% 85% 85% 85% 86% 86% 86%
Hospital RN 16,180 17,132 17,422 18,625 19,655 21,402 22,430 23,172 23,834
NA 7,528 7,694 7,898 8,138 8,839 10,144 10,719 11,477 12,138
RN% 68% 69% 69% 70% 69% 68% 68% 67% 66%
Care hospital RN 770 1,250 1,961 3,257 5,331 6,538 7,699 8,711 9,405
NA 273 425 744 1,436 3,025 4,493 5,983 7,636 8,921
RN% 74% 75% 72% 69% 64% 59% 56% 53% 51%
Clinic RN 13,626 13,566 14,560 15,083 15,938 15,602 15,717 15,616 15,522
NA 67,173 73,697 71,922 73,867 75,661 77,466 78,872 79,935 81,618
RN% 17% 16% 17% 17% 17% 17% 16% 16% 15%
Total RN 78,849 81,077 84,843 89,395 94,830 100,218 104,229 109,225 111,866
NA 84,252 90,902 89,643 92,586 96,709 101,376 104,800 108,508 112,204
Nurse staff 163,101 171,979 174,486 181,981 191,539 201,594 209,029 217,733 224,070
RN% 48.3% 47.1% 48.6% 49.1% 49.5% 49.7% 49.8% 50.2% 49.9%

Source: Ministry of Health and Welfare (2013). Direction for Reorganization of Nursing Staff System in Korea p. 5 RN=Registered Nurse; NA=Nurse Aid

Table 3.
Rate of Increase in Hospital Beds by Different Types of Medical Facilities from 2000 to 2010
Variables 2000' 2010' Increase rate (%)
Total 294,326 512,499 74.1
Advanced general hospital 37,265 37,768 1.30
General hospital 76,308 86,648 13.60
Hospital 93,014 175,934 89.10
Care hospital 5,869 102,257 1642.30
Local clinic 75,946 97,322 28.10
Dental hospital 103 263 155.30
Dental clinic 40 41 2.50
Maternity hospital 150 115 -23.30
Health center 699 455 -34.90
Oriental hospital 8,037 9,560 18.90
Oriental clinic 2,764 2,136 -22.70

Source: Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (2011). Health insurance care facilities have been increased 20,000 for the last 10 years. p. 3

Table 4.
Change of Number of Registered Nurses and Employment Rate
Year Number of registered nurses Number of active nurses Percentage of employment
2001 170,845 83,092 48.6
2002 181,800 86,145 47.4
2003 192,480 89,590 46.5
2004 202,012 94,012 46.5
2005 213,644 99,088 46.4
2006 223,781 103,902 46.4
2007 235,687 108,796 46.2
2008 246,840 114,005 46.2
2009 258,568 120,793 46.7
2010 270,274 116,071 42.9
2011 282,656 118,771 42.0

Source: Kim, J. H., (2013). Current situation and policy direction of the nursing workforce supply. Paper presented at the Pannel Discussion for the Direction for Reorganization of Nursing Staff System in Korea. Seoul National University, Seoul.

Table 5.
Nurses' Turnover Rate by the Type and Number of Hospital Beds
Variables Categories Turnover rate (%) Average (%)
Type of hospital Advanced general hospital 9.9 16.8
General hospital 18.6
Hospital 18.1
Care hospital 23.9
Others 10.3
Number of beds available 100~199 beds 23.1 16.8
200~399 beds 20.7
400~599 beds 16.6
600~799 beds 14.1
800~999 beds 9.9
Over 1,000 beds 8.7

Source: Korean Hospital Nurses Association (2012). Survey on the current nurse deployment, A report of Hospital Nurses Association. p. 93

Table 6.
Point of Turnover of New Nurses
Variables Number of employment in 2011 Before field education During field education During temporary position After permanent position Total
n n (%) n (%) n (%) n (%) n (%)
Advanced general hospital 5,695 769 (13.5) 183 (3.2) 318 (5.6) 530 (9.3) 1,800 (31.6)
General hospital 5,926 805 (13.6) 210 (3.5) 287 (4.8) 838 (14.1) 2,140 (36.1)
Hospital 338 2 (0.6) 12 (3.6) 26 (7.7) 41 (12.1) 81 (24.0)
Care hospital 28 - 1 (3.6) - 15 (53.6) 16 (57.1)
Others 20 - - - - -
Total 12,007 1,576 (13.1) 406 (3.4) 631 (5.3) 1,424 (11.9) 4,037 (33.6)

Source: Korean Hospital Nurses Association (2012). Survey on the current nurse deployment, A report of Hospital Nurses Association 2012 p. 94.

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