A number of government data states that the number of nurses in Indonesia is increasingly out of balance with the ratio of acceptance and availability of jobs. According to the Indonesian Health Workers Council (KTKI), there were 633,025 with active STRs in 2020. They also estimated that the number in 2025 would cumulatively reach 696,217 people.
Meanwhile, the average number of nurses graduating from education is 43,000. Of course, this means a big problem considering the tight selection process to enter as employees in health facilities. So in short, there are more active nurses but very few vacancies.
This problem itself has surfaced in 2012. At that time, the Indonesian National Nurses Association (PPNI) of East Java said there were 12 thousand unemployed nurses in the region. Of that many, those who got jobs were less than 10 percent. Meanwhile, those absorbed as state civil servants (ASN) are less than 1 percent.
The cause of this high unemployment rate is allegedly due to the proliferation of nursing schools which are apparently not accompanied by the quality of their graduates. Nursing education is said to be more business-oriented. As a result, many are called just graduating without considering the quality of graduates.
It has been a decade since the data above was described, but the problem of jobless nurses is still the focus of the Ministry of Health until now. Several ways have been taken by the government to overcome this problem.
Opening Independent Nursing Practices
The 2018 Nursing Law paves the way for nurses to improve their living standards. They can now establish independent nursing practices that provide nursing care to people in need. This includes providing counseling and education for clients.
However, nurses must fulfill many requirements before finally opening an independent nursing practice. Starting from buildings, facilities, files and many more. Even so, since the implementing regulations have been issued since 2019, the Ministry of Health does not have exact data regarding the number of independent nursing practices currently operating throughout Indonesia.
Nevertheless, the enthusiasm of nurses to participate directly in this field is high, along with the change in mindset from worker to business owner (nursepreneur).
Homecare and Home Visit
Home visit or homecare services are preferred by patients who cannot leave their homes. In addition, health workers can expand the reach of health services. Homecare services are growing rapidly in big cities. Starting from Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Makassar, Balikpapan to Palembang.
This homecare/home visit provider is a new destination for nursing graduates to apply their knowledge and make a career, apart from in other health facilities. In addition to helping to reduce the cost of patient hospitalization, the salary as a homecare/home visit nurse is quite high, even reaching the minimum wage in a number of provinces.
Working Abroad
The Indonesian government has established cooperation with a number of countries (Government to Government) as a supplier of nurses. This cannot be separated from the nursing shortage situation that is happening in the world. Some of the destination countries include Japan, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Germany and the Netherlands.
According to data from the Ministry of Health, the demand for nurses and caregivers increased to 80,000 only in the period 2010 to 2020. But, despite the high demand, only 5% were met.
Based on other data, between 2013 and 2018, Indonesia only sent 3,438 nurses to the countries mentioned above. This is due to the strict requirements imposed by each country, with more attention paid to the qualifications and quality of the applicants.
Even so, despite the strict requirements, nurses are still enthusiastic about participating in this program selection for several reasons. Starting from high salaries, expanding connections to valuable experience.
So, are you interested in other career prospects for nurses?
