Objective To investigate the current
staffing of
nurses and need of
hospital nursing human resources in
China.
Methods Data were collected from 181
secondary and
tertiary hospitals and 9774
nurses in
mainland China by
questionnaires.Results The average doctor-
nurse ratio was 1 ∶ 1.39 in
tertiary hospitals and 1 ∶ 1.31 in
secondary hospitals.The doctor-
nurse ratios in 164
hospitals (97.6%) and the proportion of
nurses in
health care staff in 105
hospitals (61.8%) had not reached the standard set by the Ministry of
Health of
China.62.3%
nurses held
secondary diploma for their initial
nursing education.The constituent ratio of
nurses held
secondary diploma decreased,while the ratio of
nurses held advanced diploma and bachelor degree increased in the last 5 years from 2003 to 2007.Sixty percent of newly employed
nurses were
contract nurses in 2003.The proportion increased to 78% in 2007,and in some regions it accounted for more than 90% of new
nurses.The
needs and constituent ratio of
nurses with.
secondary diploma and advanced diploma would decrease while
nurses with bachelor degree and master degree would increase in the next 5 years (from 2009 to 2013).Conclusions The
nursing shortage is still severe in
China,and
nursing staff mainly held
secondary diploma for their initial
nursing education.Most of new
nurses were employed as conwact
nurses.The need of
hospitals for
nurses has increased,especially for
nurses with higher
educational level such as bachelor degree and master degree,while the need for
secondary diploma hold ers have decreased.The need for advanced diploma holders has increased in the last 5 years and would decrease in the next 5 years,but they would still be the majority of employed
nurses.The authors suggested that the
staffing of
nursing manpower,the
work environments and career development of
contract nurses should be improved,and the initial
nursing education should be upgraded to meet the
needs of
hospitals.