In Vietnam, a doctor has less than 2 nurses to support, the pressure of the nursing profession is huge

The work of nurses is very stressful

The number of nurses per doctor in our country is also very low. In the world, every doctor has 3-4 nurses, in Vietnam, a doctor has less than 2 nurses.

This situation puts a lot of pressure on the work of nurses, especially at end-line hospitals. Meanwhile, the requirement of comprehensive patient care poses new challenges for nurses, both improving their knowledge in care and meeting the satisfaction of patients.

The above information was given at the 2025 Nursing Science Conference organized by PhenikaaMec University Hospital on October 18.

Sharing about the work of nurses, nurse Pham Huyen Trang (Hanoi Medical University) gave an example of the need for gentle care for breast cancer patients treated at K Hospital, Tan Trieu facility.

According to nurse Trang, research on 147 patients shows that more than half (53.1%) need gentle care support, of which financial need accounts for the highest proportion (63.9%), followed by physical support with common symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite and pain.

The report at the conference affirmed the important role of nurses in gentle care, not only managing symptoms and physical care, they are also a bridge to help patients access socio- financial resources, thereby improving the quality of life.

Not only giving responsibility but also giving autonomy to nurses

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hoi, General Director of Phenikaa University Hospital, said that with the theme "Empowering Future Nurses - Empowering Nurses", this year's conference demonstrates the spirit that we always strive for: Empowering knowledge, giving trust to people, so that each nurse is not only a patient caregiver, but also a researcher, an educator, a person who creates new standards in health care.

Nursing plays a very important role in the process of caring for and treating patients. They receive, guide, support medical examination, perform medical examination, post-operative care, handle procedures and answer patients' concerns. Therefore, patients' problems and dissatisfactions are often due to not having timely answers or not receiving adequate care.

Therefore, he emphasized that the increasingly high requirement for nurses is to have good expertise, good communication skills, and always be ready to meet the needs of patients to minimize conflicts. When nurses perform their role well, patients will have more confidence and satisfaction with medical services.

Sharing about the trend of personalization in treating and caring for patients, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hoi affirmed: "This is an inevitable trend in the world, and we are also following the same roadmap. Based on the patient's medical condition, age, gender, and emotions, the medical staff will personalize in diagnosis, treatment, and care".

"Each patient is a separate individual, how to support, how to relieve pain... all need to be designed appropriately to achieve optimal treatment effectiveness. When nurses clearly understand this difference, they can closely coordinate with doctors to improve the quality of treatment," said Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hoi.

Dr. Tran Quang Huy, Vice President of the Vietnam Nursing Association, highly appreciated the theme of the workshop because " empowering nurses" is not only about giving responsibility but also giving autonomy.

When fully equipped with knowledge, nurses can design personalized care plans to meet the physical and mental needs of each patient. This is also an inevitable trend in modern medicine in the world.

"Many reports are closely linked to the topic of nursing. These shares not only help the nursing team improve the quality of patient care but also aim to have services that are suitable for the patient's experience, aiming for personalized care," said Mr. Huy.