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Nursing Jobs in Switzerland

Information on Hospitals in the Western Part (French speaking) of Switzerland will be added shortly.

General Educational Requirements and Professional Conditions for Nurses in Switzerland

Switzerland has a considerable shortage of nurses and other health care professionals. But there is an almost absolute requirement that an applicant speaks one of the national languages (German, French or Italian). The sites below are almost all in German, some have a French Language option. As a consequence of similarity in the nurses education system, which is basically an apprenticeship and until recently, not a University level course, and also because of commonality of language, Germany has been the largest supplier of foreign nurses to Switzerland. More recently, with the Bologna education reform, nursing has also become a profession taught at the Fachhochschule to Bachelors Degree Level.

The general consensus is, that continuous education for Swiss nurses is a must, if you want to have a career in nursing. Often, the employer pays a significant amount towards courses, which, as an employee, you only have to pay back, if you leave the employer within a short period of completing such courses.

Recruiters and Nursing Employment Agencies in Switzerland

The primary language of all the sites below is German. Some of them have French language options, but surprisingly few have English language options, even though Switzerland's hospitals are full of foreign clients speaking English.

Here is a Glossary of some words you should know when you look at Swiss Job Boards or employment advertisements in the health sector:

Swiss Job Boards and Recruiters

Public Hospitals in the Eastern Part of Switzerland
(Zuerich and St. Gallen)

There are many more hospitals in the same area. The above is only a small selection.

Public Hospitals in North-Eastern and Central Parts of Switzerland
(Basel, Luzern and Bern)

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Salaries and Benefits

A large part of the Swiss Hospitals are run by the Canton's, that is the individual States. There are 26 States in this small country of 8.7 million people. They each have quite restricted salary scales which leave little room for reflecting nurses shortages within specific specialties. Some of the private hospitals offer slightly higher salaries, but by and large the figures shown below are the average. The Cantons of Zurich and Geneva pay slightly higher salaries, while Aargau, despite its proximity to Zurich, pays some of the lowest salaries.

The median pay in the health industry is (end of 2020) around Sfr 129,000 per year (currently about US$ 132,000) with 20 to 28 days paid vacation and working a 42 hour week. While pay for a staff nurse ranges from SFr 98,000 to SFr 129,000 (end 2020 currently about US$100,500 to US$ 132,000) per year. Employees offering specialties get paid more. Nurses work generally 42 hours per week. There are night shift, weekend and overtime payments which are about 20% higher than the standard hourly rate. Because of the shortage of nurses, there is a good opportunity for overtime. There are also opportunities for time in lieu and in general, employers offer four or more weeks of paid vacations annually. As a general rule employers are also generous financing further education in your health speciality. Health Insurance is as a rule not covered by the employer, but it is easily available and by international comparison (except when you come from a country with a National Health Service!) relatively cheap. Some employers offer subsidized housing and restaurant services for staff.

The working environment in Swiss hospitals, especially the relationship between doctors and nurses, is said to be correct but cool. If anyone has personal experience, please send us an e-mail and we will add your comments on this page. Modern management methods, and especially methods of personnel management, appear, from some reports, still to be a kind of mystery for many Swiss hospitals and clinics.Though it has improved somewhat during the last ten years. But, please write, if you have personal experiences and we will add your comments on that point as well!

There is currently a nursing manpower shortage of about ten percent and a large number of planned positions are not being filled. This figure also varies widely across the country. Foreign nurses amount to approximately 35% of all nursing staff employed.

The requirement of knowledge of a national language and similarities in education and training make German nurses the largest foreign contingent in Switzerland.