Research Center REACH

NURSE ‘SURPLUS’ IN INDONESIA: THREAT OR OPPORTUNITY?

By: Agus Suwandono, Muharso, Anhari Achadi and Ketut Aryastami
Human resources on health (HRH) in Indonesia include all persons engaged in healing and rehabilitation of peoples suffering of illnesses as well as promoting and maintenance of peoples’ health status. They can be the communities who support those with disease problems (informal) to professionals that provide health cares (formal). HRH is considered as one of the important component in the 1982 National Health System in Indonesia (NHSI), and it is placed significantly as a major sub-system and one of the most pertinent health policies in the 2003 New National Health System in Indonesia (NNHSI). In this particular paper, the general discussion will be merely concentrated at the nurses in Indonesia, and it will be focused at the nurses in Indonesia for foreign countries. This concentration is selected due to the subject is considered as one of the most complicated and complex effort in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of HRH in Indonesia.
The total academic of nurses and health poly-technique for nurses in Indonesia is 409 schools; with the total prediction of nurse production are approximately 22,000 persons per year (reported about 18,000 nurses in 2004). The total absorptive capacity by public health sector within this five year of health development period is in exceed of 2000-3000 persons per year, while the total absorptive capacity by private health sector is vary and depend on situation with approximately 1000 – 2000 persons per year.
Unequal distribution of nurses in Indonesia is still a serious problem in Indonesia. Concentration of nurses is in the big cities and surrounding areas of Java and other big islands. Difficulties of geographic with lack of transportation and infrastructure facilities in most areas outside of Java, Bali and Sumatra islands cause rejection of nurses to be placement in those areas Decentralization policy in health and other sectors has been started since 2001. This sudden and new policy of the Government of Indonesia has caused some uncertainty of local HRH policies including to the placement of nurses. While low salary, lack of facilities and uncertainty of future carrier of nurses are also considered as other importance factors for unequal distribution of nurses in Indonesia. Continue reading “NURSE ‘SURPLUS’ IN INDONESIA: THREAT OR OPPORTUNITY?”

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