​​​​​​​Voice of Iran** Harsh conditions of nurses; 15 died at work last year

Many nursing graduates are dissatisfied with the nursing system and emigrate for not having employment license.

Dr. Jaleh Ezzati, a deputy to the Organization of Nursing System, talked in an interview about the problems of female nurses in Iran.

She said, “We have documents that 97 per cent of nurses are deeply dissatisfied with the country’s health system. The number of nursing graduates is not small, however, there are many who do not get employment licenses after graduation. Presently, many of the graduates decide to emigrate.”

Ezzati also said, “Last year, 15 educated nurses died while at work. All of them worked two shifts due to work pressure, shortage of staff, and strong need for funds… Having to work overtime and these sorts of pressure leads to the death of some nurse in some province all the time. The latest example was in Kerman Province, where a 35-year-old nurse had a heart stroke at the hospital.”

On the nurses’ salary, she also said, “We are not complying with international standards. In Iran, every 15 patients have one nurse, while by the international standards every nurse has to attend to one or maximum of four patients. The difference in the salaries of a nurse and a doctor in 99 per cent of countries, is three folds at most. In Iran, however, the difference is 100 folds. We have even had payrolls that are 500 times greater than those of nurses. This is while many doctors say that they receive only the fee for visit or for surgery. They leave and all the work must be done by the nurse. In such circumstances, nurses cannot receive the salary they received eight years ago while the salary of their colleague is over 100 or 500 times more.”

She added, “Our research shows that immigration of nurses has grown 300 folds. When nurses see that doctors receive 300 folds more in salary, they would no longer respect them. The amount of work is so much that they see no reason for staying. They just leave everything behind, and leave.”Care for Humans in Iran