Planning the optimal general nurse graduates: methodology and significance

Global problems with a shortage of nurses and an increasing demand for nursing care raise questions about whether the education system as the primary source of new nurses is in line with future demands. Despite the shortage, the situation in the Czech Republic is not yet critical, but the analysis of the age structure and the small number of graduates indicates a problem on the horizon of 15 to 20 years. The objective of the article is to present the methodology developed to estimate the demand for the profession of a nurse to maintain a functional health care system according to demographic changes and to propose the optimal number of students enrolled in the nursing study program. Authors created the methodology as part of the project “Competent Nurse for the 21st Century: Analysis and proposal for optimisation of nursing education and professional practice”, supported by the Czech Republic Technological Agency. The methodology was certified by the Czech Republic Ministry of Health at the end of 2022.