Indispensable professions

In a recent keynote speech at a meeting of the International Council of Nurses, HRH Princess Muna reaffirmed the importance of investing in nursing and midwives in the context of economic development.

The acute shortage of nurses and midwives is of deep concern especially in developing countries, including Jordan, but also in the developed world, where the problem is often solved by recruiting top-quality nurses from low- and lower middle-income countries around the world.

Nurses play a basic role in the delivery of healthcare services, one that is complementary to that of physicians. Without the help of qualified and dedicated staff of nurses and midwives, physicians and hospitals, it goes without saying, cannot perform their duty properly.

So while luring away qualified nurses may be beneficial both for the hiring institution and for the hired nurses, this brain drain is detrimental to the country that spent significant sums of money on preparing the nurses only to lose them to better paying countries, and a big setback for the healthcare sector in the country deserted by nurses.

Jordan has not reached a critical state, but unless the economic situation of this middle-level hospital staff is not taken care of, it might be at the losing end.

At a different level, in Jordan, as indeed in many other Arab countries, there is a stubborn cultural barrier to women joining the nursing profession; if that continues, it will certainly lead to acute shortages of nurses.

In her capacity as the president of the Jordanian Nursing Council, Princess Muna has, again and again, sounded the alarm about the dire neglect of the nursing and midwifery professions, and urged all stakeholders to pay more attention to the profession.

The government should adopt a policy that promotes and protects the indispensable profession of nurses and midwives.

Citizens, on the other hand, need to overcome the reluctance to see their daughters work in this noble profession and generally encourage women to engage in the essential part of upgrading the health services in the country.

More nursing schools, better wages and working conditions for nurses and midwives can go a long way towards promoting these professions.

A strategy for the protection and promotion of this sector in the country must be put in place without delay.