At a press conference on Wednesday, the head of the Iranian Nursing Organization, Ahmad Nejatian, said the shortage is not due to a lack of trained nurses.
“We graduate 15,000 nurses annually, 2.5 times more than before, but still face major staffing gaps,” he said. “Increasing education capacity is not a solution.”
Nejatian stated that nurses are facing up to eight months of delayed payments for bonuses and overtime.
The financial burden and difficult working conditions, worsened by the recent 12-day war with Israel, have contributed to high attrition and increased requests for migration certificates, he added.
He also revealed that five nurses were killed during the conflict in June, with more casualties potentially unreported due to their involvement with military medical teams.
Despite improvements in back pay, Nejatian warned of systemic issues, adding, “If we continue delaying reforms like the family physician system, the health sector could face collapse.”
