(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-13 08:00

The International Nurses Day, which was yesterday, had this as its theme - "Delivering Quality, Serving Communities: Nurses Leading Primary Health Care".

The idea coincides with the current reform of China's healthcare system, which pays more attention to basic healthcare provided to residents by community clinics. And the coincidence is buttressed by the fact that China's Regulations on Management of Nurses also took effect yesterday. This shows not only the central authorities' concern for development of this profession but also the urgency to expand the force of nurses and upgrade their quality.

The shortage of nurses worldwide, as acknowledged by the Global Advisory Group of the World Health Organization, speaks volumes for the increasingly important role nurses play in our lives.

Statistics show that there are nearly 2 million doctors in China but the number of nurses to work with them is only 1.4 million. The ratio of nurses to doctors is much lower than the required 2 to 1. One nurse usually has to look after more than three beds in most hospitals in China. And more nurses are needed to meet the requirement of one nurse taking care of little more than two beds.

The new regulations stipulate that there must be two nurses for every doctor. That means we need more than 2.5 million nurses to fill up the gap. We may need even more nurses, considering the rapid increase of the aged population in the decades to come.

The number of people above the age of 60 reached more than 146 million by the end of 2006, according to a survey. They account for 11.3 percent of the total population, an increase of 1.1 percentage points compared with the 10,2 percent in 2000. They make up 21.4 percent of the world's total aged population, and the increase rate is as high as 3.2 percent annually. The figure will be 174 million, accounting for 12.8 percent of the country's total population by 2010.

With most of the aged couples having only one child, it is almost impossible for young Chinese to take care of their aged parents. So it is quite possible that we may need even more nurses in a couple of decades.

In addition, much needs to be done to improve the quality of nurses. Making them more dedicated to their work should be as important as training them in necessary techniques.

The reform of the healthcare system and the implementation of the regulations on nurses' management will hopefully contribute to the training of more qualified nurses, who will be able to make up for the shortage and improve the country's healthcare at large.

(China Daily 05/13/2008 page8)