1 in 5 nurses does not work for the health service
Ten years after graduation, 21 percent of nurses are not participating in the health service, according to a study made by Statistics Norway. At the same time, the need for nurses increases.
Statistics Norway (SSB) has followed the 3,452 nurses who graduated in the spring of 2004. Ten years after graduation, 710 were not working in the health service. About half of them (323) were not employed, while more than half (387) were employed by other industries.
– Those mainly work in public administration, social services, education, retail and agencies, writes Statistics Norway.
At the same time, other calculations show that the need for nurses will increase in the future as a result of increased life expectancy and a strong increase in the number of elderly people.
5,000 every year
– Every year, Norwegian Schools cater for 5,000 nursing students.
In addition to educating more people, it is therefore important that most of those who take the education to become nurses remain in the profession, SSB writes in a background article linked to the study.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today