Perfecting the management system of specialized nurses and increasing the number of posts

This year’s government work report pointed out that it is necessary to improve the capacity of medical and health services and "speed up the filling of shortcomings in pediatrics, geriatrics, mental health, medical care and other services". Yao Jianhong, member of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, secretary of the Party Committee of Peking Union Medical College, China Academy of Medical Sciences, and vice-president of the college, found that although the total number of nurses in China ranks first in the world at present, due to the large population base in China, the number of nurses per thousand people is only 3.7 at present, and there are some problems in some areas, such as unstable clinical nurses, the academic level of nursing staff needs to be improved, and the ability and advantages of specialist nurses have not been fully brought into play. Yao Jianhong suggested that the management system of specialist nurses should be improved, the number of specialist nurses should be increased, and the level of nursing service should be optimized.

What is the scale of nurses in China?

Yao Jianhong introduced that in recent years, the number of registered nurses in China has increased year by year with an average increase of about 8%. Every year, about 300,000 new troops have entered the nursing team, and the total number of registered nurses in the country has exceeded 5.2 million. "Over the years, I have visited many units, including nursing societies, nursing colleges and medical institutions, such as Chinese Nursing Society, School of Nursing of Peking Union Medical College, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Nanchang Medical College, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Huzhou Central Hospital, etc. The survey found that after decades of development, the total number of nurses in China has ranked first in the world with remarkable achievements. However, the total number of nurses is still insufficient and unevenly distributed. "

Due to the large population base in China, the number of nurses per 1,000 people is only 3.7 at present, which is still far behind that of developed countries and OECD countries, and also lower than that of Brazil, Russia and other BRICS countries. At the same time, the distribution of nurses is uneven between regions and between urban and rural areas. The number of nurses per thousand population in cities is about 5, while that in rural areas is only about 2. The shortage of nurses in the central and western regions and grass-roots units is even more prominent.

How to improve the level of specialization

In terms of the construction of nurses, Yao Jianhong said that at present, there are many supernumerary nurses, low pay and instability in the clinical nurses in hospitals. According to incomplete statistics, the proportion of supernumerary nurses in public hospitals in China is about 70%. Over the years, there has been a widespread problem that the price of nursing service is seriously lower than the technical value of nurses’ services.

The education level of nurses needs to be improved, and the initial education level and post system of nurses need to be optimized. To improve the professional level of nursing service as a whole, we should also improve the education level of nursing team as a whole. At present, the matching degree between nursing post management system and nursing multi-level education in China is still insufficient, and the adaptability and smoothness of nursing service category to people’s growing health needs are also insufficient. Nursing staff with different academic qualifications are not obvious in their practical work, and their competence is inconsistent with their job matching, which has become a factor restricting the high-quality development of nursing discipline in China.

The guidance of nursing scientific research is insufficient, and the support for nursing scientific research is not enough. Some countries have made great efforts to support the development of nursing discipline and cultivate high-level nursing talents through the establishment of independent nursing science research institutes and the establishment of special nursing project funding funds, which has effectively promoted the development of nursing discipline. This experience is worth our exchange and mutual learning.

In addition, the abilities and advantages of specialist nurses have not been fully exerted, the cultivation, use and management paths of specialist nurses still need to be further explored, and the certification mechanism needs to be established.

What are the advantages of specialist nurses?

Yao Jianhong said that specialist nurses refer to those who have corresponding qualifications, obtained qualification certification through specialist training, have high professional knowledge and skilled nursing technology in a special or specialized nursing field, and can provide high-level nursing practice. Specialist nurses can improve patients’ health status, functional status and quality of life, help reduce patients’ hospitalization time and readmission rate, lead the management of chronic diseases, reduce complications, reduce the pressure of medical system and reduce medical costs. With the diversification of patients’ needs, it is a trend to improve the level of specialized nursing and promote the professional development of clinical nursing. In addition, specialist nurses are also an important teaching and research force in the department, undertaking clinical teaching tasks such as training nurses with specialist knowledge and skills, training new nurses and advanced nurses, and having a keen spirit of scientific research and innovation, which is the main force of nursing research.

In China, the ability and advantages of specialist nurses have not yet been fully exerted. Specialist nurses lack unified certification and re-certification standards, as well as related post setting, supporting management policies and salary system. We should improve the management system of specialist nurses, increase the number of specialist nurses and optimize the level of nursing service.

Text/Reporter Jiang Ruojing Coordinator/Liu Xiaoxue