• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.511-524
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to provide policy recommendations for manpower planning by forecasting the supply and demand of Medical Technologists. Supply was estimated using an in-and-out movement method with a demographic method based on a baseline projection model. Demand was projected according to a demand-based method using the number of clinico-pathologic examinations taken for Medical Technologists. Over- or undersupply of Medical Technologists will depend on the productivity scenario and assumptions and ultimately on governmental policy direction. In other words, whether the production of Medical Technologists is higher or lower than the current level depends on the government policy to consider insurance finances. In this study, we assessed 'productivity scenario 3' based on the productivity as of 2012, when the government's policy direction was not considered. Based on the demand scenario using the ARIMA model, the supply of Medical Technologists is expected to be excessive. This oversupply accounts for less than 10% of the total and therefore should not be a big problem. However, given that the employment rate of Medical Technologists is 60%, it is necessary to consider policies to utilize the unemployed. These measures should expand the employment opportunities for the unemployed. To this end, it is necessary to strengthen the functions of laboratories in the public health center, to increase the quota of Medical Technologists, to assure their status, to establish a permanent inspection system for outpatient patients, and to expand the export of Medical Technologists overseas.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.372-383
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efforts of Knowledge, Attitude and Perceptions of Patient Safety Culture on Fall Prevention Activities in Mental Hospital Nurses. This study is a descriptive research study of 153 nurses working in Busan and Gyeongnam mental health hospitals, the data were collected from April 4 to December 31, 2018. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS/win 24.0 program, which included t-test, ANOVA and multiple regression analysis. As a result, The attitude toward falls differed depending on subject's license or qualifications, the higher the education level. The higher the level of perceptions of patient safety culture, and the higher the work experience, the more prevention activities toward falls. The higher the perception of patient safety culture, the higher the attitude toward falls. The higher the prevention activities toward falls, the higher the attitude of falls and the perceptions of safety culture. As a result of multiple regression analysis of factors affecting Knowledge, Attitude and Perceptions of Patient Safety Culture on Fall Prevention Activities were 12.5%. Therefore, in order to promote fall prevention activities of mental hospital nurses, the knowledge needs to be expanded through continuous education. Education programs should be developed and provided to change attitudes toward falls. and At the hospital organization level, a wide range of support is required, including changes in the overall human and institutional environment for safety.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.503-512
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to check the extent to which "instruction of physician or dentist" defined in the Medical Service Technologists, etc. Act is applied in relation to radiography examination procedures for radiological technologists. In addition, it is intended to present basic data on the requirement to revise the Medical Service Technologists, etc. Act in the radiological technologist's duty area and scope of work, The subjects of this study were radiological technologists with license, and the response data were collected after sending the questionnaire link written on the online questionnaire form. The final number of respondents were 1,018, and the response rate was 6.8%. Most of the negative responses were "I have never received 'instruction' for radiologic examination by a physician or dentist, including a radiologist in a medical environment." There were a high perception that "the professionalism in radiation examination on radiological technologists are higher than that of a physician or dentist." They answered that the current continuing education has a great impact on maintaining and continuing professionalism and learning new knowledge in the radiology field. In addition, the radiological technologists provide a very high level of education in areas related to radiography procedure ethics such as patient care, patient safety, and patient privacy protection, as well as specialized fields such as radiation-related examination methods, radiography examination dose, and patient exposure dose. Radiological technologists replied that they were receiving it consistently. In conclusion, in the current medical environment, the 'instruction' of a physician or dentist cannot be seen as being realistically performed. The phrase 'instruction' of a physician or dentist as defined in the Medical Service Technologists, etc. Act is considered inappropriate in respect of the fact that the state recognizes the qualifications of the medical service technologist through a license. It is thought that revision to a new term suitable for the current medical environment is necessary.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.125-134
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• 2022

The Korea Maritime Safety Tribunal is an institution that investigates marine accidents in accordance with the maritime safety adjudication procedure when marine accidents occur. It requires its investigators to be capable in specializing in marine accidents, including possessing the following: a level 2 or higher maritime license, experience on boarding, and specialized knowledge on ships. It also requires separate training for technical competency related to maritime accident investigations. However, the current education for marine accident investigators mainly consists of administrative tasks, which is not suitable to improving the investigator's technological competency, making its development urgent. This study aims to design training contents for marine accident investigators to strengthen their technical competence. To this end, we analyzed the contents of current investigator training, and reviewed the relevant laws and regulations, and training contents of investigators in advanced maritime countries and similar transportation institutions in Korea. According to the results, the training contents were designed to focus on strengthening technical competency, and proposed as a five-day course for basic and professional training. Based on the designed training contents, if in-depth research is conducted by sufficiently reflecting the working conditions of marine accident investigators in Korea, it will greatly help in improving the investigators' skills.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.149-176
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• 2022

South Korean law strictly prohibits engagement in medical activities by non-medical practitioners. In the country, tattooing is classified as a medical practice, and non-medical practitioners who engage in it are penalized because they are unauthorized to carry out this procedure. In reality, however, people rarely seek tattooing services from medical personnel. Arguing that their freedom of job selection is violated, non-medical personnel who make a living as tattoo artists reject the characterization of the procedure as a form of medical treatment and demand the decriminalization of tattooing by non-medical practitioners. Nevertheless, tattooing can cause health- and hygiene-related dangers when it is not performed by medical professionals because it involves penetration into the skin using needles. Hence, stringent management is necessary for infection prevention. The gap between reality and the law gives rise to the need for proactive thinking about the institutionalization of tattoo practice by non-medical personnel. Policymakers should reflect on the fact that only minimal tattooing services are currently performed by medical staff while also accounting for health and safety. On this basis, this study examined tattoo-related legislation in South Korea to determine whether the procedure corresponds to medical practice and identify ways to solve problems that occur from the perspective of health care. As a response that promotes safety and reflects reality, this research proposed a three-phase approach.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.379-389
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• 2022

The number of public transportation users has dropped drastically due to COVID-19. In this work, my survey was conducted to uncover the factors that influence citizens' travel patterns. Data were collected and logistic regression analysis on the shifts in transportation was undertaken. Additionally, an importance-performance analysis was carried out to investigate how to effectively operate public transportation systems and improve facilities. The main research findings were as follows: First, the more individuals were concerned about COVID-19 (+) and being infected when using public transportation (+), the greater the tendency to switch to private transportation modes. Secondly, when it came to personal traits, respondents who could drive a car (+) or owned a car (+)or did more online shopping (+) or used public transportation for trips (+) tended to switch over, compared with respondents who could not drive or did not own a caror used public transportation to commute. In addition, respondents who were vaccinated (-) or had more household members tended not to switch transportation modes, compared with those who were not vaccinated or had fewer household members. Third, it is important to continue the following efforts to safeguardhygiene linked to public transportation: wearing masks, disinfecting hands, controlling diseases, and general cleaning. The conclusion was that it is important to put traffic congestion and ventilation issues first, especially in regards public transportation, which was not rated as satisfactory enough compared to its importance. The research findings can provide useful basic data when establishing countermeasures to the current COVID-19 circumstances in the areas of public transportation operation and management and in the event of an infectious disease outbreak in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.1038-1043
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• 2021

Guaranteed seafarer wage payment is essential to ensure a stable supply of seafarers. However, disputes over non-payment of wages to seafarers often occur. In this study, an automatic wage payment system was designed using a blockchain-based smart contract to resolve the problem of seafarers' wage arrears. The designed system consists of an information register, a matching processing unit, a review rating management unit, and wage remittance before deploying smart contracts. The matching process was designed to send an automatic notification to seafarers and shipowners if the sum of the weight of the four variables, namely wages, ship type/fishery, position, and license, exceeded a pre-defined threshold. In addition, a review rating management system, based on a combination of mean and median, was presented to serve as a medium to mutually fulfill the normal working conditions. The smart contract automatically fulfills the labor contract between the parties without an intermediary. This system will naturally resolve problems such as fraudulent advance payment to seafarers, embezzlement by unregistered employment agencies, overdue wages, and forgery of seafarers' books. If this system design is commercialized and institutionally activated, it is expected that stable wages will be guaranteed to seafarers, and in turn, the difficulties in human resources supply will be solved. We plan to test it in a local environment for further developing this system.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.835-842
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• 2022

Several countries are establishing management systems for aquaculture environment, and fishery environment assessment is one of them. The fishery management law amended in 2013 stipulates that a fishery environment assessment should be performed when a fish cage farm's license is extended. The purpose of the fishery environment assessment is to promote sustainable fishery, increase the fishery production capacity, and increase the fishermen incoming by implementing evaluation and improvement measures through scientific methods. The analysis items of fishery environment assessment include the Benthic Health Index (BHI), which is a biological index based on the macrobenthic polychaetes community, and total organic carbon (TOC), and the two items are scored and used for evaluation as a single grade. This study explains the selection process of BHI and TOC, which are evaluation items for fishing ground, and ecological significance of the calculated evaluation grades.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.43-65
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• 2023

The healthcare industry is a digital healthcare that combines technology based on the 4th Industrial Revolution, dealing with information on individual health and medical care, and is a fusion of health care services and medical science and technology. It is questionable whether digital healthcare according to the paradigm change can be discussed by the concept of medical practice under the existing Medical Act. There is no clear definition of the concept of medical practice in the Medical Service Act, but the concept is established through precedents. In addition, under the Medical Service Act, the subject of medical practice is limited to medical personnel. However, digital healthcare sometimes diagnoses and treats diseases using digital technology by medical personnel. On the other hand, what is possible by non-medical personnel is digital healthcare. This is because digital healthcare is understood as a concept that includes health care such as exercise, eating habits, and weight control. For this reason, if the concept of medical practice under the "Medical Act" on digital healthcare is included, it is subject to criminal punishment for "unlicensed medical practice" prescribed in Article 27 of the "Medical Act". In the health and medical industry, digital transformation and convergence with information and communication technology are rapidly progressing. As a result, there is a need to newly define it as 'digitalized medical practice' or 'information and communication technology (ICT)-based medical practice' separately from existing medical practices. The concept of medical practice has variability, not a fixed and invariable concept. However, in response to this demand, it is not an infinite expansion of the concept of medical practice, but a request to reset its scope. Therefore, the concept of medical practice should be legislated by reflecting the demand of consumers for the medical service system.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.203-212
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• 2023

Since the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, it has been generally believed that a medical technologists (MTs) are supposed to perform polymerase chain reaction tests and next-generation sequencing (NGS) in the hospitals. However, many do not recognize that the duty of MT for clinical genetic testing has not been stated in the Medical Laws (72.5% for MT, N=200; 62.8% for students, N=123). In this regard, to evaluate the feasibility of MT's role for NGS genetic testing, we requested our subjects to fill out an online survey and analyzed the data. Among them, it shows that the scope of MT's role, including NGS performance should include clinical genetic testing (99.5% for MT, N=200; 86.8% for students, N=123). Also, questions on clinical genetics, which is associated with both cellular genetics and molecular genetic questions should be included in the National MT License Problem Bank (97.5% for MT; 71.4% for students). Based on these results, the Korean Association of Medical Technologists needs to cooperate synergically with the Academic Association of Biomedical Laboratory Science with respect to genetic education and legislation for the future benefit of both MTs and students.