Pakistan at a dearth of nurses: A persistent challenge

Abstract

Pakistan with its rapidly growing population and increased risk of communicable and chronic diseases, is facing a massive crisis due to acute shortage of healthcare workforce. This commentary intends to highlight the factors that are contributing to the shortage of nurses in Pakistan. With the help of available data from original, review and concept papers, the information about the current nursing shortage issue is discussed. It is concluded that nurse retention in the healthcare system is a significant problem for nursing communities all over the world, including Pakistan, where the shortage of nurses has been a persistent challenge. It is suggested that with the increasing disease burden and demand for healthcare practitioners, especially nurses, there should be some concrete plans followed by the government and other relevant bodies to retain nurses as well to provide capacity building for new determined ones. This will not only address the community health needs but also ease the potential challenges to the healthcare system.