On the eve of the International Nurses Day, senior nurses have urged the government to regulate mushrooming nursing education institutes in the country so that production of nurses does not surpass the demand, giving rise to high rate of unemployment among the nurses.

Pramila Dewan, president of Nepal Nursing Association, said nurses are finding it tough to land jobs as the country’s private nursing colleges are producing more nurses than necessary. She said nurses are unemployed and underemployed because of this.

Mushrooming of private nursing campuses has posed a threat to qualitative and competitive nursing education, she pointed.

At present, 103 institutes are providing nursing education in the country, producing around 5000 nurses every year. Despite burgeoning numbers, there are just 2.3 nurses for every 10,000 people in Nepal. According to Nepal Nursing Council (NNC), the country has around 37,000 nurses at present.

“As nurses are in excess, private hospitals exploit them in terms of pay and perks,” accused the president adding that they have no option but to work for minimal salary and facilities.

She said the government must have a concrete plan on Human Resource for Health in the nursing sector to provide services to urban and rural populations. She said the government must set a standard for nurses in terms of salary and other facilities at private hospitals. International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world on May 12, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, in recognition of the importance of nurses in national health systems. This year’s theme for the day is ‘Close the Gap: Millennium Development Goals 8, 7,6,5,4,3,2,1’.

Associate Professor of Maharajgunj Nursing Campus, Takma KC, said the country lacks specific policies to empower nurses.

After the restoration of democracy in 1990, the government issued licence to private colleges in a haphazard manner. This resulted in overproduction of nurses and quality of nursing education also suffered, she said. Because of these factors, number of jobless nurses has gone up, KC said.

“Nurses are the backbone of the health care delivery system,” she said adding that they must fulfill their role with utmost dedication and responsibility. She added that the government should monitor, evaluate and regulate pay and perks for nurses. Janaki KC, NNC registrar, said the nurses are unemployed, underemployed and are not getting timely promotion. She urged the government to prevent brain-drain of nurses by providing them better jobs at home.

source: the himalayan times,11 may 2013