Emigration affecting Iran?s nurse shortage

The number of nurses emigrating from Iran is having a severe impact on a country that is already suffering from a shortage in the field.

Current estimates state that the country has 80,000 less nurses that it needs, while figures say that around 1,000 nurses move to other countries each year. The College of Nurses has claimed that the government’s failure to value the role is one reason for the present plight.

College of Nurses spokesman Sharifi Moghaddam said the culture towards nurses in Iran needed to change so the profession is valued as it deserved to be. He also criticised the Ministry of Health, stating that it has failed to provide the opportunities nurses needed to gain higher qualifications in the sector.

Moghaddam said that nurses were now moving to other Gulf nations as well as Turkey because there were better conditions and incentives on offer in those countries.

Among the complaints from nurses in Iran are the number of hours they do and the low pay offered. Moghaddam revealed that the conditions were so poor that even nurses with 14 years of experience were walking away from the profession, thus leaving the field well short of the professionals it needed.