보건의료 공무원의 법의식(法意識)에 관한 연구

Abstract

[한글]

본 연구는 보건·의료·식품위생·약무분야에 근무하는 보건의료 공무원의 법에 관한 의식의 특징을 분석하고 인구사회학적 배경과 직무환경에 따른 법의식의 차이를 규명하는데 그 목적이 있었다.

법의식은 인지적차원, 정감적차원, 행동적차원으로 설문지를 구성하여 조사를 실시하였다. 조사대상은 보건복지부와 보건의료관련 소속기관 및 보건소등에서 근무하는 공무원 360명이었다.

조사결과에 나타난 보건의료 공무원의 법의식의 특징은 다음과 같다.

우선 인지적차원의 법의식을 보면

첫째, 법은 사회질서를 유지하기 위하여 절대적으로 필요하다고 인정하면서도 법에 대한 친근감은 부족한 편이다.

둘째, 법의 본질에 있어서는 사회성·계약성이 짙고 이에 대한 법의식은 매우 근대적이다.

셋째, 법의 기능에 대하여는 수단규범성·형벌적·징벌적 측면이 강조되는 전근대적 법의식에서 어느정도 탈피하고 있다.

넷째, 법과 정치와의 관계에 있어서는 법보다는 정치에 우선적인 가치를 두고 있고 양자는 분리된 것으로 인식하고 있다.

다섯째, 법과 도덕 등 타 사회 규범과의 관계에서는 전자를 우선적인 행동으로 생각하고 있다.

다음으로 정감적차원의 법의식으로는

첫째, 법일반에 대한 직관적 감정은 별로 좋지 않고 법과잉감은 매우 높다.

둘째, 법내용의 공정성 및 타당성에 대하여도 상당히 회의적이다.

셋째, 법집행의 공정성 및 실효성에 대하여도 부정적인 느낌을 갖고 있다.

마지막으로 행동적 차원의 법의식으로는

첫째, 보건의료공무원은 자신의 권리를 보호·주장하려는 권리의식은 매우 높다.

둘째, 권리의식에 비해 적극적으로 법을 집행하려는 의식은 상당히 낮다.

셋째, 준법의식은 매우 높지만 인정주의, 의리의식 등 정의주의적(情誼主義的)인 요인에 실제적인 법행동은 일부 제한받는 것으로 생각하고 있다. 그리고 각 차원별 법의식조사결과를 통해 보건의료 공무원의 일반적 배경에 따른 법의식의 차이를 알아보기 위하여 통계적 분석을 시도하였다.

회귀분석결과에 의하면 '인지적차원'에서는 직렬별에서 법의식의 차이가 유의하였다. 그리고 '정감적차원'에서는 근속년수와 학력 및 직무분야별에서 유의한 차이가 있었으며, '행동적차원'에서는 직무분야별에서 유의한 차이가 있었다.

각 차원별 법의식의 차이를 구체적으로 살펴보면 다음과 같다.

첫째, 인지적차원에서는 '의무·간호·의료기술·약무직렬' 공무원들이 '보건연구·식품위생등 기타직렬' 공무원들 보다 법의식수준이 높았다.

둘째, 정감적차원에서는 근무기간이 길거나 학력수준이 높은 경우 그리고 약무분야 근무자들의 법의식수준이 식품위생분야 근무자들에 비하여 상대적으로 높았다. 즉, 근무기간이 20년이상인 자들이 4년이하인 자들보다, 학력수준이 대학원이상인 고학력 자들이 전문대이하인 자들보다, 약무분야 근무자들이 식품위생분야 근무자들 보다 법의식수준이 높았다.

셋째, 행동적차원에서는 약무분야 근무자들이 식품위생분야 근무자들보다 법의식수준이 높았다.

결국 보건의료 공무원의 법의식은 직렬별, 근속년수별, 학력수준별 그리고 직무분야별로 인지·정감·행동적 각 차원에서의 차이가 있음을 알 수 있으며, 이와같은 분석결과는 보건의료공무원들이 법을 인지하고 집행하고 준수하려는 인식과 권리의식이 인구사회학적 배경에 따라 각각 다르다는 것을 의미한다.

[영문]

The objective of this study consists in analysing the legal consciousness characteristic of those health and medical service government officials who are in the service with health, medical, food hygiene, and medication affairs fields, and then clarifying the difference of the legal consciousness varying with its demographic backgrounds and functional environment.

For that purpose, a questionnaire survey was conducted of their consciousness of the law, especially in different recognition, affective, and behavioral dimensions. Randomly sampled out from Ministry of Health, health and medical organizations and public health centers were 360 government officials.

As a result of having analysed the data obtained, health and medical service government officials' consciousness of the law was revealed, as follows:

First when viewed from a recognition dimension:

1) The respondents recognize that the law is absolutely necessary to maintain the social order, but their familiarity with the law was found to be lacking.

2) Sociality and contract character were seen as thick in the essence of the law, and the legal consciousness were found be very modernistic.

3) They diverged from the premodern way legal consciousness in which normativeness, criminal and disciplinary aspects were emphasized, when seen from legal functions.

4) As for the relations between the law and politics, a preferential value was put over politics, recognizing that both of them were separated from each other.

5) Regarding the relations among the law, morals, and other social norms, the former was seen as a primary preferential behavior pattern.

Second, when viewed from an affective dimension,

1) The intuitional feelings of the law in general were shown to be not so good, and the excessive sense of the law were shown very high.

2) The fairness and justification of the contents of the law were identified to be considerably skeptical.

3) A negative feeling was also represented from the fairness and efficacy of the law.

And finally when viewed from a behavioral dimension,

1) health and medical government officials had high consciousness of the right to protect and insist their own authorities.

2) The consciousness to execute the law positively was considerably low, as compared with that of rights.

3) High consciousness of law observance was reflected, but practical legal actions were found to be restricted in part, in relation to recognition, righteousness, and intimacy factors.

Subsequently, statistic analyses were conducted to identify the difference of legal consciousness varying with health and medical service officeholders' general background via the result of analysis of legal consciousness in different perspectives.

According to the results of regression analysis, Consciousness of the law showed a significant difference in hierarchical order when viewed from a recognition dimension. Furthermore, a significant difference was also shown in number of years of continuous service, level of schooling, and functions in affective dimension, and in functional classifications in behavioral dimension.

The difference of consciousness of the law was revealed in concrete, as follows:

First, when seen from a recognitional dimension, government officials taking charge of medical affairs, nursing, medical techniques, and medication affairs had a higher level of legal consciousness than those of health researches, food hygiene, and other positions.

Second, when seen from an affective dimension, government officials who had longer years of service or a higher level of schooling, or who were in the service with medication affairs had considerably high consciousness of the law. Moreover, those government officials over twenty years' service had a higher level of consciousness of the law than those below four years' service; those who had completed a graduate course than those who had completed a junior college course; and those who were in the service with medication affairs than whose who were in the service with food hygiene, when seen from the affective dimension.

Third, when seen from a behavioral dimension, those government officials working with medication affairs had a higher level of legal consciousness than those who were in the service with food hygiene.

After all, health and medical service government officials' consciousness of the law showed differences in all of the recognition, affective, and behavioral dimensions by different hierarchical positions, number of years of continuous service, level of schooling, and functions. These findings indicate that health and medical service government officials' consciousness to recognize, execute, and observe the law vary with their specific demographic backgrounds.