Healthcare professions: vacancies advertised do not meet demand; nurses are among those in shortest supply

For 2026/27, 38,184 places have been allocated for three-year healthcare degrees, representing a 3.4 per cent increase on the previous year, but the total demand estimated by the regions stands at 43,479 places, leaving a shortfall of 5,295 places (approximately -12 per cent). This imbalance varies across different professions: for example, Physiotherapy and Osteopathy have a surplus of places compared to demand, whilst Nursing and Vocational Education face severe shortages. For Nursing, regional demand is met at 81 per cent (20,672 places out of 25,479 requested), whilst for Vocational Education this figure drops to 37 per cent (834 out of 2,235). Conversely, Physiotherapy offers 936 more places than required (4,086 out of 3,150), and Osteopathy as many as 290 per cent more (490 out of 169). A significant development is the complete absence of places for Paediatric Nursing, due to the introduction of the corresponding master’s degree programme.

Compared with previous years, the planning figures show a trend towards an increase in the number of places available, but without any real alignment with the needs expressed by the regions. Among the main imbalances and critical issues is Nursing, where regional needs are met by only 81 per cent (20,672 places out of 25,479 requested, a shortfall of 4,807). The increase compared with the previous year is minimal (+263). Similarly, for vocational education, coverage stands at 37 per cent (834 places out of 2,235 requested by the regions, a shortfall of 1,401), representing a reduction compared with the previous year. For occupational therapy, coverage stands at 48.7 per cent (258 out of 530), whilst for healthcare, coverage is 56.5 per cent (502 out of 888). In contrast, for Physiotherapy, there is a surplus of 936 places compared to the requirement (4,086 out of 3,150), representing a 25 per cent increase compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, for Osteopathy, there is a surplus of 321 places (490 out of 169), equivalent to 290 per cent of the requirement. And, as mentioned, one notable change is the complete absence of places for Paediatric Nursing, despite a regional demand for 257 places, due to the introduction of the corresponding master’s degree programme. These imbalances are the result of planning that fails to take into account the real needs of the healthcare system and the regions. However, this is the case for the healthcare professions.

 For doctors following the new ‘free semester’ enrolment criteria (no longer the old entrance exam, but a common first semester with flexible attendance, where students study three core subjects before sitting nationally synchronised exams), for the 2026/27 academic year, 27,001 places have been allocated against a regional requirement of 20,842, representing a surplus of 6,159 places (+29.6 per cent). This means that, unlike non-managerial healthcare professions, the number of places for Medicine has far exceeded regional requests, ensuring 129.6 per cent coverage. For Dentistry too, the number of places on offer exceeds demand (1,825 places compared with 1,599 requested). These figures do not assist the regions’ organisational capacity at a local level. The situation regarding healthcare staff in Italia is characterised by a crisis in recruitment, particularly for non-managerial professions such as nursing.

In recent years, there has been a decline in the number of applications for places on nursing degree programmes, to the extent that in 2025/26 the number of applications fell below the number of places available (18,836 applications for 20,409 places, a ratio of 0.92 applications per place). This phenomenon can be attributed to a number of factors: starting with pay that is inadequate in relation to the responsibilities involved (below the OECD average), followed by high levels of stress and workload, poor career prospects and social recognition, staff shortages (for example, 8.1 patients per nurse compared with a standard of 6) and precarious employment contracts, as well as a general lack of appeal. The training system also suffers from drop-out rates and a loss of candidates between application and actual attendance at the entrance exam, to the extent that it is estimated that the 2025 cohort, for example, will produce only 13–14,000 nursing graduates, compared with a requirement of over 25,000. For Medicine, the situation is the opposite: in 2026/27, 27,001 places are forecast against a regional requirement of 20,842, representing a positive shortfall of 6,159 places (+29.6 per cent). In dentistry, too, supply exceeds demand (1,825 places compared with 1,599 required).

Imbalances are also evident at a regional level: in the North and Centre, many posts remain unfilled due to a shortage of candidates, whilst in the South, demand exceeds supply. For example, in Lombardy there are 1,956 applications for 2,538 available places (a ratio of 0.8), whilst in Puglia there are 2,175 applications for 1,020 places (a ratio of 2.1). These differences are exacerbated by the low level of student mobility between the South and the North. University planning for healthcare professions in Italia for 2026/27 still shows significant imbalances between supply and demand, both across different professions and between geographical areas. The data on applications for admission always refer to the previous year, whilst for the current year only regional demand and planned places are compared. The solution requires coordinated action on training capacity, the attractiveness of the programmes and student mobility.