Outline
- Introduction
- Challenges In Health Sector Contributing To Brain Drain
- What The Government Is Doing About It
- What You Can Do About It
Introduction
The Nigerian government recently passed a bill to amend the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act 2004, addressing the brain drain in the Nigerian health sector. The bill is aimed at preventing Nigeria-trained medical or dental practitioners from being granted full licenses until they have worked a minimum of five years in the country.
According to major Nigerian media houses, the bill was proposed in response to the alarm raised by the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in August 2022, lamenting the trend of medical doctors leaving the country in mass, locally known as “Japa” to Nigerians. What is your opinion on this topic?
Whether you operate a business enterprise, a law firm, or a hospital, Human Resource Management plays a vital and active role in retaining skilled workers and talented professionals.
There is more to Human Resource Management than a managerial system of activities and strategies that focus on the successful management of employees within an organization. A Human Resource manager occupies a mediating role between the organization and its life force (employees).
In the health sector, HR professionals carry out the fundamental activities in monitoring the daily routine activities of the medical workers as well as regulating and implementing staff recruitment, performance, and appraisal.
Challenges in Health Sector Contributing to Brain Drain
Research shows that the shortage of competent health workers constitutes the biggest challenge confronting the health industry in many African countries, especially Nigeria.
Why are doctors, nurses, dentists, and other medical workers leaving?
It is widely known that inadequate infrastructure and poor salaries are some reasons why they leave in search of fulfilling and lucrative opportunities. But that is not all. During our research, we discovered other factors leading to employee migration, locally known as “JAPA.” They are:
- Poor Human Resource planning and management structure
- Unsatisfactory working conditions like long working hours, an unconducive work environment, and lack of access to medical supplies, among others.
- Non-existent career structures.
It is no surprise they leave.
What The Government Is Doing About It
The solution to the issue of skilled labour migration and employee loss not only lies with the government but also with you as a Human Resource manager or a business owner.
But first, let us talk about what the government has to say about it.
Many media houses and opinion platforms concluded that while it is nice to see the Nigerian government provide a solution to curb this issue, the proposed bill does not remove the root cause of the problem. Worse still, it poses more problems, evident days after the bill passed the second reading.
Problem upon problem!
Since government policies don’t seem to get it right, you can. Below, we will briefly discuss three strategies you can employ as an HR professional or business owner to ensure you retain the life force of your business.
What You Can Do About It
1. Use Technology To Improve Work Process & Reduce Fatigue
As an HR manager, using technological solutions like an ERP system can improve your HR process, assist you in monitoring performance, and conduct appraisals. To effectively manage employees and stay current on all issues relating to employee satisfaction, you need a user-friendly system that gives you visibility in various forms (i.e., reports) on how your employees’ activities align with the organizational goals.
You can also introduce these solutions to your workers to help streamline their workflow and administrative tasks, reducing their workload and leading to less fatigue or burnout. Solutions like Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP), Telemedicine, and other health IT systems can free up more time for health workers to focus on patient care and support.
2. Create Attractive Compensation & Supportive Environment
If your workers are not compensated fairly, they will become dissatisfied and seek better opportunities elsewhere, leading to migration and brain drain. By offering fair compensation, adequate equipment, and a supportive work environment that promotes work-life balance and employee engagement, workers will be willing to remain with your organization.
3. Invest in Professional Training & Skill Development
Medical professionals need regular training and skill development to keep up with the ever-changing field of medicine because technology is integrated into every industry. Regular training enables healthcare professionals to have a deeper understanding of the latest developments in medicine, as well as the best practices for diagnosing and treating various conditions.
In conclusion, when medical workers are well compensated, their skills are developed and utilized, and they feel they are making a meaningful contribution to patient care, they are more likely to remain with your organization.