Developing countries should enroll medical and nursing students from rural areas
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Nearly one third of medical and nursing students in developing countries may have no intention of working in their own countries after graduation, while less than one fifth of them intend to work in rural areas where they are needed most, according to a new study.
Health workforce shortages have been a major factor driving the current outbreak of Ebola in western Africa. The disease initially spread rapidly in rural parts of three of the world’s poorest countries (Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia), where health workers are scarcest.
The study, which was published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization today, provides new evidence supporting World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations on recruiting and retaining health workers in rural areas, including the targeted admission of medical and nursing students with rural backgrounds.
Source: MedicalXpress (link opens in a new window)
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