Nurses: the core of the crisis and what to do about it

Estimates indicate a shortfall of 10 to 15 thousand nurses, while the number of doctors is relatively stable. The Ministry of Health is preparing a workshop and a short action plan for nurses and midwives, aimed at education and stabilization in practice. Faster steps include restoring the general registered nurse program in smaller towns through a network of 30 secondary medical schools, which the ministry can quickly incorporate into the network provided they have teachers and basic facilities. The advantage is that since 2002 the network of schools and programs has been directly managed by the Ministry of Health, so these changes are not slowed by lengthy inter-ministerial coordination.

The obstacle is not only school capacity, but declining interest and the prestige of the profession. In the nursing field, after the admissions process only an average of 62 percent of applicants actually enroll, around 54 percent at some faculties, and during studies about another fifth drop out. So increasing intake is not enough; a change in the profession’s status and a shift in competencies are also needed: transferring more from the nurse to the practical nurse or assistant, and in justified cases even from the doctor to the pharmacist. This is a mindset change that, in the case of vaccination in pharmacies, took years, but elsewhere it will be unavoidable.