Amidst financial difficulties and inadequate pay, many Iranian nurses are forced into disastrous living conditions, such as sleeping in cars, working as online taxi drivers, and sharing overcrowded accommodations. According to official statistics, around 19 nurses, doctors and hospital technicians leave Iran every day due to financial struggles.
Iranian newspaper Ham Mihan reports that despite nurses earning maximum monthly salary of 14-15 million torman (about $200) and receiving only 25,000 torman per hour in overtime, their income barely covers basic living expenses. As a result, nursing professionals have witnessed mass escapes both domestically and internationally.
Housing Crisis and Forced Transition
Over the past year, rental costs have risen at least 100% nationwide, driving many nurses to abandon their rental housing. In response, they rely on sleeping in the dorm, sharing a home with multiple roommates, or living in a car.
Mohammad Sharifi Mogadam, executive director of Iran's nursing homes, highlighted the serious shortage of hospital nursing staff. Speaking to Jam-E Jam's newspaper, he said: Before you hire a new staff member, you must first deal with the departure of nurses. ”
Migration in the country exacerbates the health care crisis
Beyond international migration, another surprising trend is the nurses' movement from small cities to Tehran in search of better wages. This has resulted in a shortage of staffing in local hospitals, reducing the ability to recognize patients, and forced hospital beds to be closed.
For example, the Iranian Ministry of Health reported that 400 nurses from Gilan province have moved to Tehran in the past year alone. In Kermanshah, nurses abandoned government hospitals to establish private home nursing services. In other states, many nurses move to Tehran and rent shared apartments while working in private clinics and hospitals.
Meanwhile, a considerable number of Iranian nurses are seeking opportunities overseas. Many move to Toman, where salaries are hundreds of millions, or to the Persian Gulf countries in Europe. Europe can earn between 3,000 and 4,000 euros a month, beyond what it's made in Iran.
Severe working conditions and government negligence
The disastrous financial situation forced some nurses to treat emergency centers as temporary shelters, and have them work multiple shifts in different locations to survive. Others sleep in the car between shifts before heading to their next job. Despite the urgent need of nursing staff at Tehran's medical college, recruitment efforts remain largely unsuccessful. As Sharifi-Moghaddam points out, when universities promote 1,000 nursing positions, 200-300 applicants participate in the hiring process.
According to Sharifi-Moghaddam, three key issues that plague Iranian nursing are unemployment, employment change and mass immigration. “We have raised these concerns for years,” he said. “How can nurses survive on 14-15 million Toman's salary? Nurses in Europe, Australia and Canada earn thousands of euros, but in Iran, their incomes don't reach $200.”
Government crackdown on protest nurses
Instead of dealing with the nursing crisis, Iranian authorities responded with suppression. Nurses who have participated in union protests demanding better wages and working conditions face threats, legal charges and even suspension of duties.
One such case is Mohammadrezadara, a nurse at Ranemoon Hospital Trauma Centre, Yazd. He was placed under a “disciplinary halt” for two months after demanding fair wages. The complaint filed by the former president of Yazd University of Medical Sciences has resulted in this severe punishment despite Dara's 28 years of experience.
Last December, Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), dismissed a report of the migration of mass nurses as “lies, psychological warfare, negative propaganda” by the Iranian regime enemy. His statement was in stark contrast to statistics from the Ministry of Health, Congress members and hospital administrators.
These statements appear to have encouraged government crackdowns against protest nurses, as seen in the rise in lawsuits, arrests and employment suspensions. Rather than addressing the underlying causes of the crisis, Iranian authorities have chosen to challenge it through security measures as it exacerbates the suffering of nurses and the broader health care system.
Conclusion
Iranian nursing professionals are at their breaking point. With inadequate pay, harsh working conditions, and governments prioritizing oppression over reform, many nurses have no choice but to leave the country. Continuing departures of healthcare workers threaten Iran's already vulnerable healthcare system, making millions of citizens vulnerable to inadequate care. Without urgent policy changes, the situation will only worsen, deepening the health crisis for both health professionals and patients.
