[Clinical nursing manpower: development and future prospects].

The significant changes in nursing manpower utilization in Taiwan over the past two decades are due in large part to the implementation of the National Health Insurance program and the rising need for long-term care. The changes have impacted clinical nursing manpower utilization in two important ways. Firstly, there has been a substantial increase in overall demand for nursing manpower. In particular, the need for clinical nurses has nearly quadrupled during this time period. Secondly, the level of difficulty involved in patient care has risen dramatically, with factors including increased disease severity and increased care quality expectations, among others. These changes, coupled with demands on nursing manpower imposed from other sectors, underpin and further exacerbate the problem of nursing manpower shortages throughout the healthcare system. To raise the quality of the nursing work environment, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) brought together Taiwan's key professional nursing organizations to promote 10 care-reform strategies, establish the nursing-aid manpower system, and create the nursing classification system as an approach to effectively attract nurses to take positions in the medical system.