VOA慢速英语2021 新冠病毒与工作环境可能导致全球护士短缺（在线收听）

The International Council of Nurses, or ICN, warned Thursday that the world is facing a nursing crisis. In the next few years, the organization said the worldwide workforce of 27 million nurses could be reduced by up to 50 percent.

国际护士理事会(ICN)周四警告称，全球正面临着护理危机。该组织表示，在未来几年，全球2700万护士的劳动力可能会减少50%。

The organization said that nursing groups in 64 nations reported unhappiness over pay and working conditions. The groups said violence and threats also caused nurses to leave their profession.

该组织指出，64个国家的护理团体报告了对薪酬和工作条件的不满。这些团体声称，暴力和威胁也成为护士离职的因素之一。

There is also the COVID-19 effect. The organization said these difficult conditions were having a great effect on the mental health of nurses around the world.

此外，还有新冠肺炎疫情的影响。该组织表示，这些困难的条件对世界各地护士的心理健康产生了重大影响。

ICN leader Howard Catton said politicians and leaders have recognized the importance of nurses in healthcare. But nurses are still not being paid comparatively.

国际护士理事会领导人霍华德·卡顿（Howard Catton）表示，政治家和领导人已经认识到护士在医疗保健中的重要性。但相对而言，护士的薪酬仍然不高。

"And that, I think is very much also at the heart of the discontent, the unhappiness, some of the actions that we are seeing from nurses around the world," he said.

他说:“我认为，这也是我们看到全球各地的护士表达不满、不快和采取一些行动的核心因素。”

Strikes in several countries

多个国家出现罢工

Strikes over nurses' pay and working conditions have broken out in Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, the United States and other countries. The ICN said strikes, growing unhappiness and concerns over protection at work were causing people to be less interested in a nursing career.

津巴布韦、黎巴嫩、北爱尔兰、美国和其他国家爆发了针对护士薪酬和工作条件的罢工活动。国际护士理事会称，罢工、日益增长的不满情绪以及对工作环境缺乏保障的担忧导致人们对护理岗位的兴趣下降。

Catton also said that the interruption in nurses' education during the pandemic has resulted in a six-to-12-month delay for new nurses coming into the profession.

卡顿还指出，疫情期间护士教育的中断导致新护士上岗时间延迟了6到12个月。

These issues will cause problems for "both recruitment to the nursing profession and the retention of those nurses we already have," he said.

他说，这些问题将给“招聘护理人员和留住现有护士”带来影响。

These problems exist throughout the world, but are greater in low- and middle-income countries. In the report, ICN noted many nurses are leaving developing countries to go to richer countries, where pay and conditions are better.

世界各地都存在这些问题，但是低收入和中等收入国家的情况更加严重。国际护士理事会在这份报告中指出，许多护士正离开发展中国家，前往薪酬和工作条件相对更好的富裕国家。

Meanwhile, richer countries are actively seeking to bring nurses in from poorer countries to reduce their own shortages, the ICN report said.

国际护士理事会报告称，与此同时，较富裕的国家正积极寻求从较贫穷国家引进护理人员，以弥补本国的护士资源短缺。

Words in This Story

nurse – n. a person who is trained to care for sick or injured people and who usually works in a hospital or doctor's office

at the heart – idiom to be the most important part of something

discontent – n. a feeling of unhappiness or disapproval

recruitment - n. to find suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization, the armed forces

retention – n. the act of keeping someone or something