Measures to Retain Nursing Graduates in Public Sector

Ms Cheng Li Hui asked the Minister for Health (a) for the last three years, what have been the percentages and numbers of nursing graduates who remain in the public sector after five years; and (b) what measures are there to retain them in the public sector in terms of their salaries, working hours, career opportunities and social recognition.

Among nursing graduates from the 2008, 2009 and 2010 cohorts who joined the public sector, 76% remained in the public sector after five years.

Since 2014, we have been progressively implementing the "Care" package recommended by the National Nursing Taskforce (NNT) to strengthen the development of the nursing profession in the areas of Career, Autonomy, Recognition and Education.

As part of the package, nurses in public healthcare institutions and Ministry of Health (MOH)-subvented intermediate and long-term care sectors have received base salary increases of between 3% and 10% each year in 2014 and 2015, as well as a Nurse Special Payment of 0.5 month of their monthly base salary in December 2014 and 2015.

To better enable nurses to balance their work with other family commitments, the public healthcare institutions are striving to make flexible and part-time work arrangements more accessible. After successful pilots of more flexible shift start times at Changi General Hospital, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, we are working to scale up the innovations across all public hospitals.

To enhance the career progression of nurses in the public sector, the eligibility criteria for Enrolled Nurses (ENs) to undergo bridging studies have been revised. This has provided ENs with more opportunities to upgrade to become Registered Nurses, in line with the SkillsFuture initiative. In 2015, close to 180 ENs have enrolled in the bridging courses at Nanyang Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Polytechnic as compared to 45 in 2014. In addition, we have introduced the Assistant Nurse Clinician role in 2015 to enable experienced Senior Staff Nurses to take on a clinical leadership role. We are nurturing more Advanced Practice Nurses through greater support for their training. We are also increasing funding support to the public healthcare sector to provide more opportunities for nurses to undergo skills upgrading for their professional development.

Beyond salaries, working hours and career opportunities, another important area is for all of us, as a society, to continue to show appreciation, recognition and support for our nurses, not only on Nurses’ Day but every day.