Health Taiwan Discusses Nursing National Exam Reform, Cho Jung-tai Hopes to Align with Clinical Practice
Premier Cho Jung-tai, attending the Health Taiwan National Forum, announced reforms to the nursing national examination to better align with clinical practice and increase examination frequency, aiming to resolve the nursing shortage and improve healthcare services in Taiwan.
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- 📰 Published: May 3, 2026 at 18:45
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Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Chen Chieh-hsin, Taipei, 3rd) The nursing shortage is impacting healthcare. Premier Cho Jung-tai, attending the Health Taiwan National Forum today, stated that the government is committed to establishing a cross-departmental integrated platform for "education, examination, and employment." He hopes to make the content of the nursing national examination more aligned with clinical practice, reduce the number of questions, and increase the frequency of the national examination.
The Health Taiwan National Forum is being held for the third time this year. Since President Lai Ching-te is visiting Eswatini, this is the first time President Lai has been absent from this forum, with Premier Cho Jung-tai attending on his behalf. Premier Cho Jung-tai stated that President Lai specifically instructed him to participate throughout the entire forum and not to leave midway; Taiwan's golden triangle of healthcare consists of a sound national health insurance system and medical system, excellent medical personnel, and the next 'sacred mountain' of the biotechnology and medical industry.
Premier Cho Jung-tai stated that there has been enthusiastic discussion recently regarding the retention of nursing staff. Taiwan already possesses a good public health system and a relatively friendly workplace environment, and in the future, based on this foundation, comprehensive and continuous improvements will be made. The government has previously launched a 12-strategy plan for nursing workforce policy readiness to optimize the nursing workplace.
Premier Cho Jung-tai pointed out that the government is committed to establishing a cross-departmental collaborative integrated platform for "education, examination, and employment," allowing examination content to be more aligned with clinical practice as an important reform of the examination system. At the same time, the number of questions for the nursing national examination will be adjusted from 80 to 50, assessing the professional capabilities of new nurses with a more reasonable question format, and the frequency of national examinations will increase from twice a year to three times.
In addition, regarding the highly-watched nurse-patient ratio standards, Premier Cho Jung-tai stated that the government has adopted a phased approach to promote the three-shift nurse-patient ratio system starting from 2024; relevant funds are also increasing annually, from NT$4 billion in 2024, NT$4.7 billion in 2025, to the current NT$6.8 billion, continuously expanding investment.
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang said that the passing rate for most medical personnel national examinations can be maintained at 80% or even 90%. If the passing rate for nursing-related department graduates is too low, it will affect the supply of personnel entering the market; the Ministry of Health and Welfare values the number of people who pass the national examination and obtain licenses each year and will adjust the examination system accordingly.
Shih Chung-liang stated that incorporating the three-shift nurse-patient ratio into the "Medical Institution Establishment Standards" is not significantly different from the originally planned schedule. As early as 2024, incentive standards for the three-shift nurse-patient ratio were established, and after being incorporated into the establishment standards, promotion will continue based on this foundation. From international experience, not many countries have explicitly legalized the three-shift nurse-patient ratio, and a dedicated task force will be established for discussion and revision. (Edited by Wu Su-jou) 1150503
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(Central News Agency reporter Chen Chieh-hsin, Taipei, 3rd) The nursing shortage is impacting healthcare. Premier Cho Jung-tai, attending the Health Taiwan National Forum today, stated that the government is committed to establishing a cross-departmental integrated platform for "education, examination, and employment." He hopes to make the content of the nursing national examination more aligned with clinical practice, reduce the number of questions, and increase the frequency of the national examination.
The Health Taiwan National Forum is being held for the third time this year. Since President Lai Ching-te is visiting Eswatini, this is the first time President Lai has been absent from this forum, with Premier Cho Jung-tai attending on his behalf. Premier Cho Jung-tai stated that President Lai specifically instructed him to participate throughout the entire forum and not to leave midway; Taiwan's golden triangle of healthcare consists of a sound national health insurance system and medical system, excellent medical personnel, and the next 'sacred mountain' of the biotechnology and medical industry.
Premier Cho Jung-tai stated that there has been enthusiastic discussion recently regarding the retention of nursing staff. Taiwan already possesses a good public health system and a relatively friendly workplace environment, and in the future, based on this foundation, comprehensive and continuous improvements will be made. The government has previously launched a 12-strategy plan for nursing workforce policy readiness to optimize the nursing workplace.
Premier Cho Jung-tai pointed out that the government is committed to establishing a cross-departmental collaborative integrated platform for "education, examination, and employment," allowing examination content to be more aligned with clinical practice as an important reform of the examination system. At the same time, the number of questions for the nursing national examination will be adjusted from 80 to 50, assessing the professional capabilities of new nurses with a more reasonable question format, and the frequency of national examinations will increase from twice a year to three times.
In addition, regarding the highly-watched nurse-patient ratio standards, Premier Cho Jung-tai stated that the government has adopted a phased approach to promote the three-shift nurse-patient ratio system starting from 2024; relevant funds are also increasing annually, from NT$4 billion in 2024, NT$4.7 billion in 2025, to the current NT$6.8 billion, continuously expanding investment.
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang said that the passing rate for most medical personnel national examinations can be maintained at 80% or even 90%. If the passing rate for nursing-related department graduates is too low, it will affect the supply of personnel entering the market; the Ministry of Health and Welfare values the number of people who pass the national examination and obtain licenses each year and will adjust the examination system accordingly.
Shih Chung-liang stated that incorporating the three-shift nurse-patient ratio into the "Medical Institution Establishment Standards" is not significantly different from the originally planned schedule. As early as 2024, incentive standards for the three-shift nurse-patient ratio were established, and after being incorporated into the establishment standards, promotion will continue based on this foundation. From international experience, not many countries have explicitly legalized the three-shift nurse-patient ratio, and a dedicated task force will be established for discussion and revision. (Edited by Wu Su-jou) 1150503
Choose to stand with facts. Every sponsorship you make is a force for protecting press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency "First-Hand News" APP to get the latest news immediately.
Text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.