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A shortage of nurses has haunted China for years and the situation is showing no sign of improvement.
The situation has returned center following news on Monday of a shortfall of 180,000 nurses in south China's Guangdong Province. According to the local health department, the number of nurses has grown from 89,000 a decade ago to 215,000 in 2013, far below the national standard for the doctor-nurse ratio, which is 1:2.
A similar warning came from Hebei Province on the same day, which reported 1.52 nurses for every 1,000 people, failing to reach the World Health Organization standard, which requires two nurses for every 1,000. By the end of 2013, in the whole country, there were only 1.85 for every 1,000 people.
The Beijing Anding Hospital is scouring the country for new nurses this year, but managed to hire only eight, just 15 percent of their target. In addition, 10 nurses quit their jobs in the first four months of this year.
The Jiangxi Tumour Hospital used to recruit less than 20 nurses each year before 2005. During the past five years, more than 100 nurses have been hired annually, yet the shortage has not been eased.
The problem has many sources, including high stress, irregular schedules and rows between medical staff and patients.
High stress
Stress is taking a toll on the number of nurses, with some choosing to resign to escape the daily annoyances. Xiao Jing (a pseudonym), a nursein a hospital in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, handed in her resignation on Friday, only three days before the 102nd International Nurses Day, which would have been the 11th for her personally.
Despite her passion for the job and a monthly income of 7,000 yuan (about 1,121 U.S. dollars), a level considered quite high in her field in Nanchang, stress has shaken her confidence.
"I feel like I am watched all the time, and any minuscule mistake will incite the biggest screaming," she told Xinhua.
Her feelings are shared by Gao Li at Jiangxi Children's Hospital, who,in April alone, spent 15 nights on shift. "Last year, I was on the night shift for a total of 118 days," she said.
Rows with patients
According to Wang Xia, the head of the nursing department in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, the work load has led to tensions between nurses and patients.
"Sometimes a nurse has to take care of several patients at the same time, which makes it hard to focus on every patient," Wang said.
He added that patients might blame nurses for having bad attitudes and ignoring their requests. "It has already become a vicious cycle," he said.
Bleak promotion prospects
The lack of opportunity to get promoted is another reason for so few nurses.
Becoming a director of a nursing department or head nurse of a ward is quite limited, said Zhang Xinqing, professor with Peking Union Medical College.
A 22-year-old clinical nurse with a bachelor degree, for example, might have to wait more than 20 years to be promoted, Zhang added.
Hospitals and medical colleges are considering measures to tackle shortages.
According to Cheng Ruifeng, deputy head of Jiangxi Nursing Vocational and Technical College, the institution has made it easier for students to enrol.
Xiong Xiaoyun, director of the nursing department of the Second Affiliated Hospital to Nanchang University, said the hospital will increase salaries and improve the welfare of nurses in an attempt to retain staff.
"We will also provide professional training," Xiong said.
The government should improve public awareness in respecting nurses, while improving their salaries and providing more care for them, said Luo Guo'an, a health expert from the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences.
