02/08/2025
02 August 2025
𝐂𝐑𝐑𝐇 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭
𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘
𝑬𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑵𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏: 𝑨 𝑺𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘
Adequate nursing workforce is essential to ensure the delivery of effective and quality nursing care. However, the shortage of nurses accounts for more than half of the total shortage of healthcare professionals worldwide. Bhutan is one such country that reported an alarming 9.14% attrition of nursing workforce in 2022–2023. The average density of nurses in Bhutan has declined from 21.07 per 10,000 population in 2021 to 20.42 nurses by March 2023. Prior to the current high rate of attrition of nurses, the Ministry of Health had projected the need of additional 1595 nurses by 2026 to meet the minimum desired nurse to population ratio. With an increasing number of nurses leaving for developed countries seeking better economic opportunities, the numbers of nurses are expected to decline in Bhutan. As of 2025, nursing education in Bhutan is provided through one government and three private training colleges. Despite this, it is unlikely that the gap in nursing workforce requirement will be met as graduates prefer to migrate to developed countries. Some of the factors leading to attrition are poor remuneration, lack of clear job descriptions and lack of job satisfaction. Nurses who lack bachelor's degree face difficulties in career progression and advancement. We recommend the development of clear job description, introduction of nursing licensing examination for regulatory oversight and diversification of the roles of nurses into school and community-based programmes. With the reforms in the health system, health policymakers and health administrators need to develop a long-term plan for sustainable health human resource development. This Perspective presents a brief history of nursing profession, current situation of the nursing human resource, attrition and its contributing factors and the implications for Bhutan.
𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘴: 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘺 𝘛𝘦𝘯𝘻𝘪𝘯, 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘫𝘪, 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘶 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨, 𝘈𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘳 𝘎𝘶𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘨, 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘒𝘰𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘢, 𝘈𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘎𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘮, 𝘛𝘦𝘯𝘻𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘯𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘢 𝘗𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘭, 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘫𝘪 𝘎𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘕𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘱 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘫𝘪
Full article access👇
https://doi.org/10.1002/puh2.70090
