Transition of Occupational Health Nursing Education in Korea

한국 산업간호교육의 변화추세 분석

In December 1990, Occupational Safety and Health Law was amended to reinforce employer's responsibilities on employees' health and safety. Among the amended law it was important to expand the role of an occupational health nurse to the role of an occupational health manager. An occupational health manager should take charge of coordinating periodic health examination and environmental hazard evaluation, providing primary care, monitoring employees' health status, giving the workplace walk-through, selecting safe protection equipment, providing health information, counseling and health education, independently. This position of occupational health nurse is equivalent to the role of doctors or occupational hygienists. In 1991, government made a master plan to prevent occupational disease and injury. Under the plan, Korea Industrial Nursing Association (KINA) was established in 1994 with the purpose of improving health services and upgrading career opportunities for members. Therefore, this study was designed to analyze the transition of occupational health nursing education with the changes of law and policy in Korea between 1991 and 1996. In details, it was to analyze the rate of school providing occupational health nursing practice based lecture, lecture hours, lecture contents in undergraduate curriculum, program contents of graduate school, kinds of continuing education, etc. For this purpose, we conducted survey two times. In February 1991, baseline study was conducted with all nursing programs in Korea (19 BSN programs and 43 nursing departments of junior college). From April to May in 1996, the second survey was conducted with all nursing programs (38 BSN programs and 69 junior colleges). The first response rate was 66.1% and the second was 40.6%. Structured questionnaires were mailed to the deans or the community health nursing faculties. In the case of graduate school, telephone survey was conducted with 10 school of public health or environmental health area. Data from the yearbook of Industrial Safety Training Institute (ISTI), the history of Korea Industrial Health Association, and the journals of KINA were also included in the analysis. As the results, we found that there were remarkable improvement in undergraduate and graduate programs, obligatory as well as voluntary continuing education in terms of occupational health nursing expertise between 1991 and 1996. 1) The number of school providing occupational health nursing practice-based lecture was increased with the rate from 7.3% to 25.6%. The rate of school giving over 15 class-hours was increased from 33.3% to 46.6%. 2) Content areas were composed of introduction of occupational health, occupational epidemiology, industrial hygiene, occupational disease and injury, law and policy, health education, concept of occupational health nursing, role of occupational health nurse, occupational health nursing process, etc. Of content areas, occupational health nursing process was more emphasized with the increased rate from 43.9% to 88.4%. 3) In the case of graduate school, occupational health programs were increased from 4 to 10. One of them has developed occupational health nursing program as an independent course since 1991. 4) The law increased educational hours from 28 hours to 36 hours for introductory course at the time of appointment, and from 14 hours to 24 hours every 2 years for continuing education. Course contents were Occupational safety and health law, introduction of occupational health, health education methodology, planning and evaluation, periodic health exam, occupational disease care, primary care, emergency care, management, industrial environment evaluation, etc. In 1996, Korea Industrial Nursing Association has begun to provide continuing education after Industrial Safety Training Institute. 5) Various educational programs in voluntary base were developed such as monthly seminar, CE articles, annual academic symposium, etc. It was shown that changes of law and policy led rapid growth of occupational health nursing education in various levels. From this trend, it is expected that occupational health nurse expertise be continuously to be enhanced in Korea. Legal and political supports should proceed for the development of occupational health nursing in early stage.