Latvian nurse wants more colleagues and greater respect within four years

A nurse at the Children’s Clinical University Hospital wants staffing shortages and the profession’s low standing to improve over the next four years. Ieva Kalniņa shared her hopes with LSM as part of its “I have a dream” series ahead of the next parliamentary election.

“My dream is for nurses to be able to make decisions themselves, rather than simply carry out medical orders. I want them to be independent, courageous and willing,” Kalniņa said.

She hopes that in four years there will be less need to discuss a shortage of nurses, health spending targets will be more than “a declarative goal on paper,” and excessive workloads will no longer be routine.

Kalniņa said research shows Latvia still has one of the lowest numbers of nurses per 10,000 residents. Night shifts remain commonplace, posing a significant and well-known risk to patients and staff. A lack of resources can also lead to “missed care”, when tasks are delayed or omitted because nurses do not have enough time, she said. This is not negligence, but a physical impossibility, she added.

She also pointed to gender inequality in the healthcare workforce: more than 85% of workers are women. Nurses often begin their careers while starting a family, and demanding shifts are followed by work at home. Kalniņa said nursing is often chosen by men in other parts of the world because it is varied and dynamic, but in Latvia low pay and the profession’s standing can discourage them.

Kalniņa said the crisis is not only about staffing numbers and workload, but also about attitudes towards the potential of nursing. Nurses are gaining broader clinical skills, she said, but neither the healthcare sector nor society is ready for these changes.