Taiwan’s Nursing Crisis (16 minute video) 台灣護理人員人力嚴重不足

Taiwan has an excellent, very affordable universal healthcare system [全民健康保險 Quánmín Jiànkāng Bǎoxiǎn / Chyuanmin Jiannkang Baoshean] that is widely praised: “An overview of the healthcare system in Taiwan” [London Journal of Primary Care; December 2010]
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3960712/

However, the system has been experiencing significant problems, including a growing lack of nursing personnel: “Fixing Taiwan’s healthcare system” [Taipei Times; April, 2015]
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2015/04/07/2003615327

Independent Special Correspondent (獨立特派員 Dúlì Tèpàiyuán / Dwulih Tehpayyuan) is a Taiwanese public television program that specializes in presenting social justice issues. This week’s episode is devoted to the continuing problem caused by the growing lack of nursing staff in Taiwan.

Below the video you can read my translation (@wentong-syhhae) of the first section and the original Chinese text, which is a summary of issues covered by the documentary.

Independent Special Correspondent, Episode 518 “Nightingale,” presented by 陳廷宇 (Chén Tíngyǔ / Chern Tyngyeu)

Welcome back to the Independent Special Correspondent (Dúlì Tèpàiyuán / Dwulih Tehpayyuan) Program.

The next issue of concern we bring to your attention is a matter of great concern to all of us. Nursing in Taiwan is facing a serious manpower shortage and a high turnover. This has led to a great deal of overtime work and has seriously affected the quality of medical care.

Hoping to provide an up-to-date record of the work environment for nurses in Taiwan, a team of nursing professionals decided to produce a documentary entitled Nightingale. As a result, they found out that every year there are 15,000 nursing school graduates, but only seven thousand of them (less than half) wind up serving in clinics and hospitals. What’s more, 270,000 people in Taiwan are certified as professional nurses, but only 160,000 are actually engaged in nursing.

With the constant improvements in medical technology, average life expectancies are rising and society is aging. Chronic diseases and diseases of civilization are becoming more and more common and the number of people who require nursing care plus the time required is also increasing. But because they are overwhelmed by the problems brought about by their stressful work environment, more and more front line nurses are leaving the field.

Among nursing staff working in hospitals there is a distinct lack of fresh staff. What happens in the workplace and their lives after nurses graduate from school and take the Nightingale pledge? What makes them choose to leave the profession? Let’s take a look at the story of these “angels in white”.

陳廷宇

歡迎回到獨立特派員的節目現場。

接下來要帶您關心的, 同樣是和你我切身相關的議題, 台灣護理人員因為人力嚴重不足, 流動率高, 導致護理人員工作超時, 也嚴重影響了醫療品質, 而一部由醫護人員, 擔任製作團隊的紀錄片 『南丁格爾』 希望能夠記錄, 當今台灣護理的勞動環境。

結果他們發現每年的護理畢業生有一萬五千人, 但卻只有不到一半的七千人會進入醫療院所來服務, 而台灣有護理師證書的有27萬人, 從事護理工作的卻不到16萬人。

隨著醫療科技的日新月異, 平均壽命增加，社會高齡化, 各類的慢性病及文明病, 越來越普遍, 需要照護的人數也越來越多, 時間越來越長, 但持續有第一線的護理師, 因為無法承受, 工作環境所帶來的困境而離開。

醫院裡頭的護理人員, 年齡分佈也有明顯的斷層, 從學校畢業後, 許下南丁格爾的諾言, 在他們的職場上及生命中, 究竟發生了什麼事, 讓他們選擇離開, 來看看這群白衣天使的故事。