Reducing pressure, increasing safety for nurses in the context of severe human resource shortage

Nursing is recognized as a highly independent professional, playing a pivotal role in health care and strengthening health systems.

According to the Ministry of Health, with a population of more than 100 million people, Vietnam needs about 260,000 nurses, but currently has only 150,000, leading to a shortage of human resources in the industry.

The pivotal role of nursing

On the occasion of International Nurses Day (May 12), Dr. Vuong Anh Duong - Deputy Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management (Ministry of Health) said that the incident of a nurse at Nam Dinh General Hospital being assaulted while working was a heartbreaking incident for the nursing team. Through many surveys, statistics and studies of the health sector, it has been shown that nurses are a force that is susceptible to occupational burnout, because they often have to work at night, high work pressure, especially in the areas of resuscitation or emergency departments.

Therefore, the nursing staff at all levels needs to be organized from the central level, the Department of Health to the hospitals. The nursing staff needs to be enhanced in professional capacity, improved and invested in facilities, infrastructure, information technology application... to meet the increasing needs of the people and meet the needs of international integration.

K Hospital is the largest medical facility in the country specializing in cancer examination and treatment. Each year, the hospital receives and treats more than 400,000 patients, of which the hospital has performed tens of thousands of surgeries, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The large number of patients coming for examination and treatment simultaneously increases the pressure on the work of medical staff, especially the nursing team.

Nurse Bui Van Quyen - Emergency Resuscitation Department (K Hospital) said that working as a nurse in the Emergency Resuscitation Department with the characteristic of caring for patients in serious condition, especially cancer patients, makes the job even more difficult.

The work of a nurse in the intensive care unit is like a busy cycle regardless of weekdays or holidays. The unit is always full of beds and is more difficult and hectic when having to take care of patients on ventilators, blood filtration, and hypothermia with many advanced techniques that require close monitoring and more thorough patient care.

Talking about her job, Nurse Quyen said that if you don't love the job, it will be difficult to stick with it for a long time because the work is too hard.

“In addition, nurses also have to overcome their inferiority complex, because in reality, many times when patients come to the hospital, they only care about the doctors, while nurses, although they are in contact with patients almost from morning to night for many consecutive days, monitoring every abnormal development of the patient to report to the doctor, many times the family and patients do not really appreciate the role of nurses. That is what makes many nurses feel inferior,” Nurse Bui Van Quyen confided.

The work of nurses in intensive care or emergency departments becomes even more difficult and hectic when they have to take care of patients on ventilators, dialysis... (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

Mr. Vuong Anh Duong analyzed that the nursing team always plays a very important role in health care. That is why the World Health Organization has affirmed that nursing care is one of the pillars of the health system.

In 2025, the International Council of Nurses emphasized the key role of nurses in improving the quality of health care, community care and contributing to the sustainable development of the economy. May 12 of each year is chosen as International Nurses Day to honor the irreplaceable contributions of this team.

Dr. Do Anh Tu - Deputy Director of K Hospital affirmed that International Nurses Day is a special occasion to pay tribute to the silent contributions of the nursing team - the "warriors" on the front line in patient care. K Hospital is where the battle for life takes place every day, the nursing team not only carries out medical orders but also accompanies cancer patients.

Dr. Tu emphasized that with the theme "Our nurses. Our future. Let's care about nurses to boost the economy," once again affirming their core role in the health system. We thank and commit to creating conditions for nurses to develop and spread the value of the profession."

Promote a comprehensive care model

The World Health Organization report affirms that nursing is a vital part of the health system. In Vietnam, nurses account for 60-70% of the workforce in health facilities and are the force most closely associated with patients throughout the treatment process. Over the past 30 years, Vietnam has upgraded nursing training to four levels: college, university, master/specialty I, and since 2019, it has trained domestic nursing doctors.

According to the Ministry of Health, the 2023 revised Law on Medical Examination and Treatment stipulates for the first time that nurses are highly independent practitioners, affirming their central role in patient care and promoting a comprehensive, multidisciplinary care model.

Nurses are the ones who monitor the health status and are closely involved with patients every day. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

Dr. Ha Anh Duc - Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management analyzed that the medical examination and treatment sector is inherently under a lot of pressure, with about 200 million medical examinations and treatments each year, averaging hundreds of thousands of visits per day. Meanwhile, the workforce in the sector has not been able to meet the demand. There are very crowded hospitals, patients want to be examined quickly and thoroughly, but many times the medical facilities cannot meet the demand.

When the number of patients is too large with increasing demand and diversity of medical services as well as heavy pressure on medical staff. This is also a situation that can make patients and their families not satisfied as they wish.

Therefore, in recent times, a series of important legal documents have been issued, laying a solid foundation for the in-depth and professional development of the nursing profession in Vietnam, from the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, Decree 96/2023/ND-CP; Circular 31/2021/TT-BYT, Circular 32/2023/TT-BYT, which for the first time clearly stipulate the scope of practice and the list of 1,251 specialized techniques for nurses; many techniques that were once only performed by doctors are now legalized, in accordance with their capacity and training level... ensuring patient safety and promoting nursing development in the direction of specialization, standardization of training and international integration.

Previously, the Ministry of Health has given nurses the initiative to assess, diagnose, and intervene within their professional scope; raising their role in the modern hospital system, aiming for humane and professional care. Because an effective, fair and humane health system can only be firmly built when nurses are placed in a central position, properly invested and given the conditions to fully develop their capacity./.

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/giam-ap-luc-tang-an-toan-cho-dieu-duong-voi-boi-canh-thieu-nhan-luc-tram-trong-post1037965.vnp