Amid growing scrutiny of the "taeum" (workplace bullying culture among nurses) following the recent suicide of a nurse in her 20s, the Korean Nurses Association (KNA) has launched a "Nurse SOS Support Desk."
The KNA said Thursday that it has established a counseling system to enable nurses working in medical settings to respond quickly to psychological difficulties, workplace conflicts and legal issues they face in the course of their work.
Under the slogan "Don't endure it alone. The Korean Nurses Association is with you," the Nurse SOS Support Desk consists of four areas: crisis and grievance support, psychological counseling, labor counseling and legal counseling.
Crisis and grievance counseling is handled directly by professional counselors with nursing backgrounds, who listen to the various difficulties nurses experience in their working lives and seek practical solutions together. The service is available 24 hours a day through a telephone hotline (02-2206-1942).
Mental health counseling targets nurses experiencing work stress, burnout and depression, with professional psychological counselors taking part. Labor counseling is provided by certified labor attorneys specializing in medical fields on various labor-related issues including workplace bullying, unpaid wages, employment contracts, working conditions and the work environment. Legal counseling will be provided by professional lawyers with nursing backgrounds to support nurses in appropriately responding to various legal issues arising from medical accidents, licensing and the performance of their duties.
"Nurses are more devoted than anyone to protecting patients' lives, but they often bear their own difficulties alone," KNA President Shin Kyung-rim said. "I hope the Nurse SOS Support Desk becomes a real source of strength for nurses facing difficulties and a safety net they can lean on at any time." She added, "Going forward, we will continue to expand various support programs to protect nurses' mental health, labor rights and legal interests, and to create a safer nursing environment."
Meanwhile, following the death of the late Kang Su-bin, a 27-year-old nurse who worked at a hospital in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, and who had complained of persistent workplace bullying by senior nurses, voices calling for improvements to hospital organizational culture and measures to prevent recurrence have grown both inside and outside the medical community. President Lee Jae-myung wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, "Whether in the name of education, in the name of custom, or in the name of organizational culture, taeum is a horrific form of violence that can never be justified," ordering a thorough investigation into the facts along with government-level measures to prevent recurrence. The same day, Minister of Health and Welfare Jung Eun-kyeong also said she would review measures to prevent nurse taeum and improve overall organizational culture, including operating a workplace bullying reporting center.
