Need incentive mechanism to attract nurses

After the merger, Hai Phong has more than 9,100 nurses, midwives and technicians. According to the Vietnam health network planning, the number of nurses compared to the city's population ratio has not met the requirements.

Lecturers of the Nursing Faculty of Hai Duong University of Medicine and Technology train and guide nurses at Thanh Ba Medical Center.

Low income, high pressure

The shortage of nursing staff occurs in many public and private health facilities in Hai Phong. Compared to the ratio of nurses and population according to the health network planning of Vietnam, Hai Phong city currently does not reach the ratio of 25 nurses/10,000 people.

Take Hai Duong Medical Center as an example. The center has 115 beds, 336 staff and workers, and manages 1 general clinic and 27 health stations in 9 wards.

Currently, in some wards, there are cases of dengue fever, hand, foot and mouth disease, flu, etc., but the center is facing many difficulties in epidemic prevention and health care for people due to lack of human resources. Most of the affiliated health stations lack doctors, nurses, midwives, etc.

Not only in the public sector, private medical facilities also lack nurses. Hanoi Royal General Clinic Joint Stock Company (Le Thanh Nghi Ward) has just posted a notice to recruit additional nurses, Hanoi Eye Hospital - Hai Phong is also in need of recruiting more nurses...

Low income, special working environment... are the reasons why the city's nursing rate does not meet the demand. The starting salary of nurses after graduation, working at medical facilities is about 3 - 4 million VND/person/month.

At autonomous grade 1 hospitals in the city, the starting salary for nurses is only about 6 - 7 million VND/person/month.

The nursing environment is full of pressure, because carefulness, meticulousness, and precision must be put first. Ms. Nguyen Phuong Linh, a nursing staff at Hai Phong International Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital, confided that pregnant or newly born women are always in a sensitive state, with complex psychological changes, and are easily agitated; newborns are often weak, and if not handled skillfully, it will affect the patient.

This is the pressure that nurses have to go through, because just a small mistake will create big consequences. "Nurses not only have professional knowledge, but also have to be psychologists and skillful communicators so that patients can trust and cooperate with treatment" - Ms. Linh said.

One reason for the shortage of nursing staff is that the profession is not attractive, leading to recruitment and training in this field not attracting many students.

Nursing students, Hai Phong Medical College during practice hour.

Increase the treatment mechanism

Faced with that reality, Resolution 03 of the City People's Council stipulates policies to support training in a number of occupations in Hai Phong city in the period of 2024 - 2030, including nursing.

Dr. Dao Van Tung, Principal of Hai Phong Medical College, said that in the past, the school had encountered many difficulties in attracting and enrolling students in nursing and midwifery. The birth of Resolution 03, with a mechanism to support tuition fees of 900,000 VND/person/month, created a "boost" in the school's nursing enrollment.

On average, each year the school trains 800 - 1,000 nursing students, providing nursing human resources for public primary health care facilities, clinics, beauty care and therapy facilities in and outside the city.

According to Dr. Le Duc Thuan, Vice Principal of Hai Duong Medical Technical University, to improve the professional skills of the nursing staff at the grassroots level, every year the school sends a team of teachers and lecturers to directly support and train at the facilities.

In early October 2025, the Nursing Faculty of the school trained and updated the procedures for assisting doctors and caring for patients with endotracheal tubes, catheters, lumbar punctures, etc. for the nursing team of Thanh Ba Medical Center.

This activity contributes to improving the knowledge and professional skills of nursing staff at the facility and ensuring the quality of patient care at local medical facilities.

There should be a lunch regime to attract nurses.

Together with training facilities, hospitals and medical facilities in the city regularly organize excellent nursing competitions to comprehensively evaluate the qualifications, professional capacity and skills of nurses, helping units to have plans for coordinated training and development.

Vice President of the City Association for Human Resources and Talent Development, Nong Quoc Tuan, said that, in addition to the mechanisms that have been and are being implemented, it is necessary to continue to add incentive and motivation mechanisms (support for procedures to buy social housing, income support, etc.) to develop the nursing staff in particular, and human resources in some key sectors, to serve the city's development.

According to the planning of the Vietnamese health network, to improve the effectiveness of public health care, it is necessary to reach a ratio of 25 nurses/10,000 people. Thus, the nursing force in the city must reach at least 10,000 people and currently this team is short of about 1,000 people.

GREAT VICTORY

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/can-co-che-dai-ngo-de-thu-hut-dieu-duong-vien-524839.html