A graduation held at the School of Nursing of Guangzhou Medical College on May 11, 2010 (Guangzhou Daily)
The constant increase in Guangzhou's population is putting pressure on the city's medical centers. It is estimated that around 30,000 nurses are currently needed in hospitals across the city, in particular those with specialised training. If no solution is found to remedy this problem, the lack of nurses is expected to continue increasing in coming years.
According to existing regulations, a hospital should have twice as many nurses than doctors, however few medical centers in Guangzhou are capable of fulfilling those conditions. Currently, nurses are overworked and poorly compensated, leading many to resign and take-up better paid jobs as housekeepers and childminders.
In addition to poor working conditions and low salaries, the lack of qualified nurses is also due to the education system which neglects hospitals' practical demands. Faced with a growing number of women abandoning the profession, male nurses are becoming more and more popular. It will however take many years before a significant number of men are to be seen in China's hospitals as this career is still traditionally considered a woman's profession.
