Are Nurses Overworked? Could Shortages Be A Factor?

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 (Bernama) -- "Have patience, I only have two hands. Can you hold on for a while!".
It sounds harsh and rude, but that was what a patient experienced in a hospital here.
"I had wanted to ask about my medication. There were only two or three nurses attending to all of the patients in the ward at that time.
"I do understand that they had to attend to more urgent matters concerning other patients. The ward at that time was full of patients and visitors, and there were only a few nurses on duty. The nurse that I had wanted to question probably lost her temper when she became too busy," said the patient, who wished to be named as Fatima Bee of Pulau Pinang.
Why there are not enough nurses?
For those who work in the healthcare industry, the nursing shortage, particularly in public hospitals, is real and incredibly frightening.

NURSING SHORTAGE
According to healthcare authorities, more than 70 per cent of Malaysian hospitals currently do not have adequate nursing staffs.
According to media reports, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai has said that 109 universities and colleges in Malaysia offer nursing training programmes.
The nursing programmes are offered at 85 private universities and colleges (IPTS) and 10 public universities (IPTA) nationwide, including one operated by the Defence Ministry, and 38 nursing schools administered by the Health Ministry.
He said there are some 80,000 nurses at hospitals and clinics nationwide, but only some 80 per cent of the jobs are filled.
And about 1,100 Malaysian-trained nurses are working abroad, he is reported to have said.
Low said about 9,000 nurses graduate from nursing colleges nationwide and enter the work force each year, but unfortunately this number needs to increase by 30 per cent in order to even begin addressing the nation's healthcare needs.

STRESSFUL OCCUPATION
Many in the healthcare industry consider nursing one of the most stressful occupations there is.
Dr Ahmat Fakrudin, a general practitioner who used to serve in government hospitals, said most nurses, in general, are overworked.
"Staffing shortages only make their jobs harder. Whether due to stress or health problems related to the difficult work, many nurses are forced to leave the profession early," he said.
He said there is also the patient care factor to consider, as overworked and under-staffed nurses means a lower quality of care overall.
"I believe when there are more nurses employed in a hospital, there will be a much higher patient satisfaction with the quality of services rendered in the wards," he added.

NEED FOR MORE NURSES
Nursing science lecturer Mary Lim said a substantial increase in the number of nurses is needed in hospitals nationwide in order to create a viable ratio of caregivers to patients for the future.
"There are several factors contributing to the shortage of nurses in the healthcare industry," she said.
Among them are that nursing school enrollment is not increasing quickly enough, and nursing colleges are turning away qualified applicants.
"Some applicants are rejected because they are thought to be over-qualified," she said.
Lim said there are not enough high-level nurses to fill academic and faculty positions.
"Out of the many who complete their diploma in nursing programmes, only a small percentage go on for advanced courses such as bachelor's and master's degrees. Therefore, there is only a small pool of nurses with advanced degrees available to be in the academic and clinical nursing fields.
"Addressing the nursing shortage means opening up the pipeline to move trained nurses to be teachers, hence producing more nurses," she said.

24 HOUR SERVICE
As nursing care is a 24-hour service, Lim said, there needs to be an adequate number of nursing staff on duty.
"Nurses believe the heavy workload and inadequate staff have negative impacts on the quality of patient care," she said.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the ratio recommended for nurses to population ratio in a country such as Malaysia is 1:200.
According to the healthcare authorities, the ratio in Malaysia is one nurse for every 329 people and the country needs some 150,000 nurses in order to meet society's healthcare needs.