‘Nursing shortage is serious’

Shanghai is facing a serious nursing shortage and will need some 40,000 nurses by the end of 2015, to meet the standard doctor-to-nurse ratio of 1:2, which still might not even be enough to serve the city at that time, Shanghai Nursing Association said Thursday.

The association commented on the issue after the local health bureau highlighted the widening gap between the number of doctors (51,300) and nurses (55,900) in the city earlier this week, worried that the shortage of nurses could put massive strains on the health system in the near future.

The problem is further compounded by the challenges of recruiting more qualified nurses soon enough, the bureau said, citing overwhelming work pressures, tiring shift work and low pay as conditions that make it not only difficult to recruit more trained nurse, but also to retain existing hires, authorities said.

More daunting is that even if the city were able to obtain a force of 100,000 nurses in the next few years, there still may not be enough trained professionals to meet the needs of residents by 2015, when the aging seniors are expected to account for about a third of the city's population and require more care than ever, said Ye Wenqin, vice chairman of Shanghai Nursing Association.

"Shanghai wants to compete with modern cities around the world," she told the Global Times Thursday. "But, nurses in developed countries only care for up to eight patients a day, while our nurses need to worry about as many as 30 patients daily."

Ye said that local nurses are increasingly trying to seek more cushy jobs, frustrated over working conditions.

"Non-local Chinese nurses are also more interested in working in their hometowns, given the high living costs in the city," she added.

Ye went on to say that due to family pressures placed on children to be 'successful' later in life, many students strive to become doctors - not nurses. She said that the city needs to provide more incentives - including preferential policies - to get out-of-towners interested in the city's nursing profession.