Nurses demand clear rights, duties
Nurses across the country are pushing for the government and the House of Representatives to speed up deliberation of the Nursing Practice Bill, which will recognize the profession as a main component of the national health system.
Harif Fadhillah, secretary of the Indonesian National Nurses Association, told The Jakarta Post on Friday the group would organize rallies nationwide to promote the issue on International Nurses Day on May 12.
In Jakarta, a group of about 15,000 protesters, comprised of association members and nursing students, will march from the HI traffic circle in Central Jakarta to the House of Representatives building.
The purpose of the bill is to clarify the rights and duties of nurses.
The draft bill was submitted to the House in 2005 and has since been revised 20 times.
"We are still implementing Health Ministry Decree No. 1239/2001 as a legal basis for our jobs. However, the decree is not clear enough in terms of nurses' rights and duties, and it has become irrelevant compared with laws for nurses in the Philippines, Taiwan and Malaysia," he said.
He said the vague rules in the regulation endangered nurses, such as those in Bandar Lampung, West Java and Central Java who had been detained by authorities or harassed by locals for providing emergency assistance without doctors present.
"In fact, the decree states nurses are allowed to give medical treatment if they have approval from the doctors in charge. However, most people believe medical treatment such as giving injections should be done only by doctors," Harif said.
"This has definitely hampered our job, which basically is to help the doctors."
To resolve the issue, he said, Indonesia needed a specific law regulating nursing practice that would define nurses' responsibilities.
"The bill under discussion covers nurses' competence and protection during practice, which means they are defined as professional practitioners," said Harif.
If the bill is passed into law, it will be Indonesia's first national standard for nurses.
According to Harif, nurses' competence, which involves knowledge, skills and psychomotor abilities, must be standardized in educational institutions to ensure excellence in nursing services.
"We hope there will be an independent institution to assess nurses' competency level to complement the establishment of this law," said Harif.
The Jakarta Post
Harif Fadhillah, secretary of the Indonesian National Nurses Association, told The Jakarta Post on Friday the group would organize rallies nationwide to promote the issue on International Nurses Day on May 12.
In Jakarta, a group of about 15,000 protesters, comprised of association members and nursing students, will march from the HI traffic circle in Central Jakarta to the House of Representatives building.
The purpose of the bill is to clarify the rights and duties of nurses.
The draft bill was submitted to the House in 2005 and has since been revised 20 times.
"We are still implementing Health Ministry Decree No. 1239/2001 as a legal basis for our jobs. However, the decree is not clear enough in terms of nurses' rights and duties, and it has become irrelevant compared with laws for nurses in the Philippines, Taiwan and Malaysia," he said.
He said the vague rules in the regulation endangered nurses, such as those in Bandar Lampung, West Java and Central Java who had been detained by authorities or harassed by locals for providing emergency assistance without doctors present.
"In fact, the decree states nurses are allowed to give medical treatment if they have approval from the doctors in charge. However, most people believe medical treatment such as giving injections should be done only by doctors," Harif said.
"This has definitely hampered our job, which basically is to help the doctors."
To resolve the issue, he said, Indonesia needed a specific law regulating nursing practice that would define nurses' responsibilities.
"The bill under discussion covers nurses' competence and protection during practice, which means they are defined as professional practitioners," said Harif.
If the bill is passed into law, it will be Indonesia's first national standard for nurses.
According to Harif, nurses' competence, which involves knowledge, skills and psychomotor abilities, must be standardized in educational institutions to ensure excellence in nursing services.
"We hope there will be an independent institution to assess nurses' competency level to complement the establishment of this law," said Harif.
The Jakarta Post
