A first-instance court ruled that the Ministry of Health and Welfare's decision to suspend the nursing assistant for about one month for performing radiographs on 201 patients without a medical technician license was unlawful. The court held that if it corresponds to 'assisting in medical treatment' under the Medical Act, a nursing assistant can perform the duties of a medical technician under the direction of a physician.
The Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 12 (presiding Judge Gang Jae-won) ruled in favor of nursing assistant A in the lawsuit against the Minister of Health and Welfare for the cancellation of the nursing assistant license suspension on Dec. 19, 2022, and ordered the defendant to bear the legal costs.
A, who worked at an ENT clinic in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, performed radiographs on 201 patients under the direction of the hospital director between 2018 and 2019. Performing radiographs is a task that cannot be done without a medical technician license.
This fact was discovered by investigating authorities, and the hospital director was fined 1 million won for violating the Medical Technicians Act in November 2022. A was given a suspended prosecution considering that it was a first offense and that the crime occurred under the hospital director's instructions.
However, separately, the local health center issued an administrative decision on Dec. 8, 2023, suspending A's nursing assistant license for 1 month and 15 days, stating that 'performing a radiograph without a medical technician is a violation of the Medical Act.' A filed an administrative appeal, but when the Central Administrative Appeals Commission dismissed it, A filed an administrative lawsuit in October of last year.
In the first-instance court, A argued that 'even if performing radiographs is a medical technician's job, a physician can perform it as part of medical treatment, and a nursing assistant can perform medical activities as an assistant under the physician's guidance, so A is also capable of the radiography work.'
The court sided with A. The panel stated, 'If it is the case of 'assisting in medical treatment' under the Medical Act, a nursing assistant can perform the duties of medical technicians under the instructions and supervision of a physician.' Furthermore, it noted, 'It is unclear whether A performed main medical activities beyond simply performing radiographs, and compared to the 15-day qualification suspension given to the primary responsible party, the hospital director, the 1 month and 15 days given to A is excessive,' and ordered the cancellation of the administrative decision.