lack of 2,500 nurses in Mashhad; Job burnout in the shadow of forced overtime

Mashhad - The lack of 2,500 nursing staff in Mashhad and the heavy shadow of forced overtime on the shoulders of the medical staff has sounded a serious alarm for job burnout and the quality of health services in the spiritual capital of the country.

Ambassador of Arjan-Provinces Group, Atefeh Wefaian: Nursing profession as one of the key pillars of the health system is tied in its foundation with a combination of specialized knowledge, round-the-clock sacrifices and a deep love to reduce the pain of the sick, and the activists in this field are at the forefront of caring for the health of the society.

The passage of decades of consecutive service in various medical departments, from high-risk emergencies to specialized departments, shows the level of commitment and stability of the medical staff in facing the most difficult critical conditions and physical and mental injuries caused by work.

The sweetest moments in this ups and downs path are the healing of patients' pain, the return of life to helpless bodies, the discharge of recovered babies and children, and the smile of satisfaction of their families, which removes the exhausting fatigue of long shifts from the body of the treatment staff. Despite all the new scientific achievements in the care and clinical fields, the nursing community is still facing challenges such as mental and physical pressure, forced overtime and livelihood concerns, which require mutual understanding of people and effective support measures of organizations.

Lack of 2 thousand 500 nurses in Mashhad

Mohammad Sadeghi, director of nursing affairs at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, in a conversation with Mehr reporter, stated: The shortage of nurses in Mashhad is estimated to be around 2,500 people. By providing these forces, part of nurses' overtime can be reduced.

The Director of Nursing Affairs of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences stated: The ratio of nursing staff to beds in Mashhad is more than one. While this ratio is less than 0.8 in some provinces.

He added: The number of nursing employment permits of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences every year depends on the permits issued by the Ministry of Health, and the university has no independent authority in this field.

Sadeghi continued: The university does not have accurate statistics on the number of nurses who leave the profession due to job changes or migration; However, there are cases of leaving the nursing profession.

The director of nursing affairs of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences stated about his motivation to enter the nursing profession: My entry into this field was conscious; But the turning point was when my father was hospitalized in Imam Reza (AS) hospital in 1369 and seeing the effective services of the nursing staff and the good prayers of the people, which made me choose nursing the following year.

He said about the employment status of nursing graduates: All nursing graduates of public and independent universities, after finishing their studies, enter the human resources planning period for two years in hospitals and government centers and the armed forces, and the amount of men's military service is deducted from this period.

Sadeghi named the sweetest moments of nursing service as the healing of the patient's pain and the satisfaction of their families, and he said: "The patient's peace during the night and the recovery of the frightened child from the mother's arms are among the best shared moments of all the medical staff and nurses."

The Director of Nursing Affairs of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences stated about the ways to increase nurses' resilience: Part of resilience requires the support measures of organizations and the Ministry of Health in the field of rights, welfare facilities and recruitment to reduce job burnout, and the other part depends on the individual himself to increase his peace and resilience by reviewing the services provided, reducing concerns and cooperating and empathizing with colleagues in the department.

Regarding his wish for the future of nursing in the country, he stated: I wish for a day when nursing colleagues do not have financial worries, grow at high levels of education, and by recruiting enough workers by organizations, overtime hours and work pressure will be reduced so that they have more opportunities to live with their families.

Referring to the scientific achievements of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in the field of wounds, Sadeghi noted: As one of the largest and mother universities of the country, by holding monthly meetings by wound experts, Sadeghi reviews and implements the latest scientific achievements, new dressings and researches to reduce infection and accelerate wound healing.

The Director of Nursing Affairs of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences requested the general public: We expect clients and patients' companions to understand the fatigue and limitations of nurses and help the medical staff during long shift hours and hard work in order to prevent negative effects on the quality of patient care.

nursing; A profession mixed with love and hardship

Naghme Razaghi, a faculty member of the Faculty of Nursing, in a conversation with Mehr reporter on the occasion of Nurse's Day, said about how she got into this field: choosing nursing was initially a career decision and at that time I did not know much about this field; So that in the first months of being a student, I had a challenge whether I could endure its hardships or not.

The faculty member of the nursing faculty added: Over time and by talking with different professors and getting to know the philosophy of this field and the services it provides to patients, I realized that this department is compatible with my spirit and I became interested in pursuing a doctorate.

He said about his first day in the hospital: It was the second semester when I entered the hospital. Entering the ward and seeing a very sick patient and helping the nurses was shocking and anxiety-inducing for me at first, but gradually with the improvement of scientific knowledge and skills, we were able to manage these scenes.

Razzaghi considered his sweetest memory to be the prayers of the patients and the moment of discharge of the babies and said: The sweetest moment for a nurse is seeing the smile of a mother who hugs her baby and is satisfied with the care. Good prayers and the smile of the sick remove the fatigue from the human body.

Referring to the demands and expectations from the society, the faculty member of the nursing faculty stated: We expect people to understand the hardships and mental and physical pressures of nurses; In addition to the work pressure, the medical staff are faced with mandatory overtime to keep the hospital departments up and running, and if sometimes fatigue overcomes their behavior, people should treat them with mutual understanding, because nurses really give their lives.

He considered today's nursing to be much more advanced than the past and added: the level of nursing education has been upgraded to the doctorate level and care has become much more scientific and advanced.

Razaghi advised young people interested in this field: Entering nursing requires a high philanthropic spirit, the ability to endure difficult conditions, nightlife and love for service, and on the other hand, this good field guarantees quick employment and extensive career development up to the higher levels and faculty.

Love for the profession is the main motivation to serve in nursing

Zohra Fakhri, head of the emergency department of one of the specialized children's hospitals in Mashhad, in a conversation with Mehr reporter, said, referring to her background in the nursing profession: I knew I wanted to become a nurse since I was five years old and I was interested in this job. I have been doing all the care work and hard dressings of family members with interest since I was a child, and my entry into this field was fully conscious.

Referring to his service history, the head of the emergency department of the children's hospital added: I was born in 1998 and I have more than 30 years of work experience. Despite the physical complications caused by hard work, such as lumbar disc surgery at the age of 38, I still love my job with all the adversities, hardships, day and night shifts in critical conditions such as air pollution, corona and flu, and very little salary and benefits that do not match the difficulty of the job.

He clarified about the role of the patient's companions in the treatment process: accompanying the patient is a two-sided situation and is like a double-edged sword; A well-informed and good companion can be helpful, but in pediatric emergency, considering that this center is the center of oncology, nephrology and treatment in the east of the country and patients come from the provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan, Kerman, North and South Khorasan, some companions are clumsy due to ignorance, and their level of cooperation depends on their view of the treatment staff.

Fakhri said about the sweet memories of his service: There are many memories over the years of service, but one of the most recent sweet memories was the successful resuscitation of a 68-year-old patient who was brought to the emergency room about two weeks ago with very weak vital signs and a breathing tube. With the efforts of the treatment staff and the ward doctor, after about an hour of successful resuscitation, the patient regained consciousness and called his family, which made the shift personnel deeply happy, because it is very gratifying to see patients return to life without vital signs.

The superintendent of the emergency department of one of the specialized children's hospitals in Mashhad, referring to the wishes and demands of the nursing community, noted: My heart's desire is that no one needs to go to the hospital, especially children, and that conditions are provided for nurses to continue providing services with more motivation and peace.