In a fact-finding study conducted from December through November by the Korean Nurses Association, 69.5 percent of the 7,275 nurses interviewed said they had experienced human rights violations from employment law infractions at work. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – In a fact-finding study conducted from December through January by the Korean Nurses Association, 69.5 percent of the 7,275 nurses interviewed said they had experienced human rights violations from employment law infractions at work.
Nurses frequently reported being coerced into carrying out duties they did not feel comfortable with (2,477 cases) or working extra hours (2,582). Missing payments (2,037 cases) and being restricted from making use of paid vacation days without explanation (1,995 cases) featured prominently as well.
The Korean Nurses Association’s study also found sexual harassment to be a point of strong concern, as 18.9 percent said they had been victims of varying levels of sexual misbehavior; perpetrators were mostly patients (59.1 percent), doctors (21.9 percent) and patient guardians (5.9 percent).
In addition, 40.9 percent said they had suffered abuse due to the pervasiveness of “taeum”, a Korean word describing the culture of hazing and abuse surrounding the training of new nurses by their seniors (preceptors).
In addition, 40.9 percent said they had suffered abuse due to the pervasiveness of “taeum”, a Korean word describing the culture of hazing and abuse surrounding the training of new nurses by their seniors (preceptors). (Image: Yonhap)
Taeum – and by extension nurses’ working conditions – have come into the spotlight after the suspected suicide of a nurse employed at a major Seoul hospital occurred on February 15, with workplace bullying being raised as the possible cause.
When asked to identify who had most recently caused them distress, 30.2 percent of the study participants pointed the finger at either their direct superior or their preceptor. An additional 27.1 percent said fellow nurses, while 13.3 percent answered that their nurse supervisor was the one to blame.
Most common examples of distress caused were “screaming and using swear words”, malicious rumors and slander and humiliation and ridicule.
With a high turnover rate – 33.9 percent of entry-level nurses transferred without completing even a single year according to the Korean Nurses Association’s records in 2015 – compounding problems, voices are calling for measures to correct for human rights violations and ease nurses’ burdens.
Kim So-sun of Yonsei University’s nursing department said, “Rather than simply focusing on the organizational culture of one hospital, solutions must be derived by treating core problems such as languishing numbers, treatment of nurses and insufficiently prepared new nurses due to a lack of training hospitals.”
Information pertaining to human rights violations and other infractions generated from the survey were submitted to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Employment and Labor for review.
S.B.W. (sbw266@koreabizwire.com)
