PURPOSE: To analyze the structure of Korean nurse labor market and examine its effect on hospital nurse staffing. METHODS: Secondary data were obtained from Statistics Korea, Education Statistics, and Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service and Patient Survey. Intensity of monopsony in the nurse labor market was measured by Herfindahl Hirshman Index (HHI). Hospital nurse staffing level was divided into high and low. While controlling for confounding factors such as inpatient days and severity mix of patients, effects of characteristics of nurse labor markets on nurse staffing levels were examined using multi-level logistic regressions. RESULTS: For characteristics of nurse labor markets, metropolitan areas had high intensity of monopsony, while the capital area had competitive labor market and the unemployed nurse rate was higher than other areas. Among hospital characteristics, bed occupancy rate was significantly associated with nurse staffing levels. Among characteristics of nurse labor markets, the effect of HHI was indeterminable. CONCLUSION: The Korean nurse labor market has different structure between the capital and other metropolitan areas. But the effect of the structure of nurse labor market on nurse staffing levels is indeterminable. Characteristics such as occupancy rate and number of beds are significantly associated with nurse staffing levels. Further study in support of the effect of nurse labor market is needed.
Hospitals ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Nursing Staff, Hospital/economics/*supply & distribution ; Workplace

A 4-yr-old girl has exhibited severe snoring, restless sleep and increasing daytime sleepiness over the last 3 months. The physical examination showed that she was not obese but had kissing tonsils. Polysomnography demonstrated increased apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 5.2, and multiple sleep latency tests (MSLT) showed shortened mean sleep latency and one sleep-onset REM period (SOREMP). She was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and underwent tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. After the surgery, her sleep became much calmer, but she was still sleepy. Another sleep test showed normal AHI of 0.2, the mean sleep latency of 8 min, and two SOREMPs. Diagnosis of OSA to be effectively treated by surgery and narcolepsy without cataplexy was confirmed. Since young children exhibiting both OSA and narcolepsy can fail to be diagnosed with the latter, it's desirable to conduct MSLT when they have severe daytime sleepiness or fail to get better even with good treatment.
Adenoidectomy ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Child, Preschool ; Disorders of Excessive Somnolence/diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Methylphenidate/therapeutic use ; Narcolepsy/complications/*diagnosis/surgery ; Polysomnography ; Republic of Korea ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive/*diagnosis/drug therapy/surgery ; Tonsillectomy