Words by

Nanna Árnadóttir

@nannaarnadottir

Photo by

landspítali.is

A severe shortage of nurses in Iceland is expected in coming years, reports RÚV.

Ólafur G. Skúlason, chairman of the Icelandic Nurses’s Association, estimates that roughly 900 of the 2800 nurses working today will retire within the next 3 years.

At the same time only 400 nursing students will graduate and many seek other jobs due to the heavy workload and poor wages.

Additionally, the demand for nurses is increasing quickly with the ageing population.

To respond to the shortage Ólafur told mbl.is that it was important to encourage men to become nurses, not only to bolster numbers but because they are a 2% minority within the profession.