China's nurses reach 2.05 per 1,000 population

BEIJING - The number of registered nurses in China reached 2.78 million by the end of 2013, raising the overall share to 2.05 nurses per 1,000 population, according to a health official.

The total number of the country's registered nurses by the end of 2013 increased by 106 percent over the number in 2005, said Ma Xiaowei, vice minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), at a symposium marking International Nurses Day, which falls on Monday.

Ma pointed out that doctors used to outnumber nurses in China, but the doctor-nurse ratio had been leveled to one-to-one by the end of 2013, and has even reversed in large hospitals.

Ma also noted that an increasing number of nurses have expanded their practices to non-communicable disease management, long-term nursing, rehab and hospice care.

However, the county still has a shortage of nurses, particularly skilled nurses, Ma said.