Today, May 12, Kazakhstan joins the global community in celebrating International Nurses Day—a professional holiday that unites nursing communities from 141 countries around the world.
Currently, more than 190,000 mid-level healthcare professionals work in Kazakhstan’s healthcare system, including over 146,000 nurses. Around 55,000 specialists serve in rural areas.
The role of nurses in the national healthcare system has significantly increased in recent years. With the expansion of responsibilities and delegated authority, nurses have become an integral part of the team-based model of medical care delivery.
This transformation has helped reduce the burden on doctors, improve patient routing, and enhance the accessibility and quality of healthcare services.
Today, advanced practice nurses independently perform:
- initial consultations and ongoing patient monitoring;
- maintenance of medical records and electronic documentation;
- issuing of free prescriptions based on physician orders via digital systems;
- patient flow regulation, appointment scheduling;
- registration of assets and population attachment to primary healthcare organizations (PHC).
Nurses are also responsible for:
- managing patients under dispensary observation;
- counseling, education, and home visits as part of chronic disease management and the universal-progressive model of the patronage service;
- preventive activities including vaccinations and screenings;
- promoting public health at all levels of care delivery.
The Ministry of Health has introduced a stepwise training system for nursing professionals—from standard qualifications to academic degrees such as bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs, aligned with modern competency requirements.
Nursing education in Kazakhstan is provided by 94 medical colleges, including 22 public and 72 private institutions, 39 of which hold the status of higher medical colleges.
Each year, Kazakhstan graduates more than 23,000 general profile specialists, and in the past six years, over 20,000 applied bachelor’s degree nurses have been successfully employed in healthcare facilities.
To coordinate the development of the nursing profession, regional coordinators have been appointed in 20 regions of Kazakhstan. These coordinators include representatives from clinical practice, educational institutions, and healthcare administration bodies.
The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan expresses its sincere gratitude to all nurses in the country for their invaluable contribution to the nation’s health, their professionalism, compassion, and dedication. Nurses are always on the frontline of patient care, standing by people in the most challenging and critical moments of life.
In honor of the professional holiday, from May 14–16, two major events will take place:
- the International Forum “Innovations and Prospects for the Development of Nursing” in Turkestan, and
- the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Implementation of Best Practices in Independent Nursing in Kazakhstan” in Kyzylorda.
Stay up to date with our news at https://ksph.edu.kz/ and on our Telegram channel Mediclub.
