Shortage of nursing staff is a global problem existing both in the developed and developing parts of the world. While the developed nations get around the problem by recruiting nurses from other countries to fill its vacancies, the developing countries are struggle with acute shortage.

The global migration of nurses is particularly high. It is common for Indian nurses to migrate to other countries, especially the neighbouring gulf countries attracted by better pay and opportunities of international exposure and professional development. The situation is  severe in smaller island nations such as Jamaica where, according to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates,  eight percent  of its generalist nurses and 20 percent of its specialist nurses leave for more developed countries each year.  Between 2002 and 2006, more than 1800 nurses left the Caribbean to work abroad. English-speaking Caribbean nations currently have 1.25 nurses for every 1000 people; 10 times fewer than countries in the European Union and the United States of America Situation is almost similar in India. According to the Indian Nursing Council, 2.4 million nurses will be needed by 2012 to provide a nurse-patient ratio of one nurse per 500 patients. (Source: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/88/5/10-020510/en/index.html).

Shortage of nurses is an important concern because it compromise health service delivery both in terms of quality and quantity. According to WHO, India, empirically, the states with the worst health-care human resource shortages are also the ones with the worst health indicators and highest infant and child mortality.
Paucity of training is cited as one of the main reasons for the global nurse shortage. In India, for example, the focus of nurse training is often an issue, with curricula more suited to teaching skills useful in developed countries rather than in resource-poor settings in nurses’ home countries. This is true for most of the developing countries. There is also an issue of trainers. The faculty-student ratio for nursing training in developing countries is reported to be as high as 1:45 compared with a 1:12 ratio in developed countries (Source: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/88/5/10-020510/en/index.html).

Also, while nurse shortages occur at every level of the health-care system in India, recruitment and retention of nurses to rural areas is especially difficult and therefore needs special attention. Expereinces around the world have shown that in some cases different incentives (including rural allowance, better educational opportunities, and better insurance coverage) to remain in nursing posts in rural areas work well. In general, incentive packages tailored to local conditions are more likely to be effective.

Increasing nursing training opportunities, better pay, good working conditions- these are the three fundamental considerations to make nursing an attractive profession. Are we working on it?

What can be done to attract more students to nursing?