Tuesday 14 June 2011

Quality of Nursing Care and Nursing Leadership in Nepal

In Nepal, according to the recent Nepal Nursing Council's recent record (Dec, 2010) there are around 30,000 nurses in the country. Every year around 5000 nurses graduate in the country from public and private nursing colleges. Most of the graduates do not get jobs so some stay at home, some work as a volunteer, those who can afford to go abroad go for further study and very few of them get job in the private medical colleges and private hospitals.

On the other hand, in the national health care delivery system only 3000 nurses are currently working. In the government health care centres there are shortage of nurses but still government of Nepal is not absorbing these graduates. Quality of nursing care is big question in the health care delivery system of the country. Even in the oldest and largest public hospital like Bir Hospital managed by the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) the quality of nursing care is very poor.

Likewise, as per the last year record 40 years old Nepal Nursing Association has only 3000 nurses in their memberships.

Therefore, I always wonder what is lacking in the leadership of nursing in Nepal? Are nurses who are holding leaderships are incompetent? How do Nepalese nurses leadership can be strengthened? What can be done to improve the quality of nursing care in Nepal? How we can empower and make accountable and responsible to those nurses holding leadership positions in the association to strengthen nursing profession in the country?

Contributed to the Global Health Delivery Project's Global Nursing and Midwifery dated 13 June.

3 comments:

  1. Nice article Laxmi di, I am impressed with your blog and overall your involvement in public health and nursing. I am also doing my Msc in managing health and social care in London and wonder how our nursing leadership and management has not been at the level at where we should have accomplished.However, I am also optimistic and would like to join your team as a learner and contributor in near future depending on the space I could get because we have countable living history of Nursing Education in Nepal...Thank you

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  2. Thank you for bringing this issue. It needs to be dealt carefully with great compassion. We need visionary, professional nursing leaders to upgrade nursing profession making quality nursing services all over.

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  3. Thank you for bringing this issue. It needs to be dealt carefully with great compassion. We need visionary, professional nursing leaders to upgrade nursing profession making quality nursing services all over.

    ReplyDelete