Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations.
But what is happening to all the Filipino nurses nowadays? After graduated and took up the Nursing Board Exam, what should be the next step? And that is to find a job. According to the statistic, there are approximately 200,000 graduates of nurses every year in the Philippines but only 2,500 are getting the right job for it. Let us just do some percentage here; approximately there is only 1.25% from graduates who gets a job?
What will happen to those who remain jobless? Why does the government keeps on accepting enrollees to take up nursing courses from different universities if they know for a fact that Filipino nurses are overly populated. Are there any quotas for it? What are they aiming for? Maybe, to human export again these professionals to become a “bagong bayani” or OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers)?
Former Health Secretary Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan has urged the government to ensure a win-win bilateral agreement with countries who take interest in hiring Filipino health professionals.
In the country’s agreement with Canada’s Saskatchewan province and Finland, Tan said for every 10 nurses, the importing country has agreed to improve the nursing center and for one Filipino nurse hired, three more nurses will be educated. Joint researches, linkages and graduate scholarships with their universities for improved research were also included in the agreement.
For many, the working conditions are not as promised. They were told that they would be working at a specific hospital in a safe environment, only to find out that the position is in a different hospital, in unsafe neighborhoods or even in completely different cities and states than promised. Others find that the “agency” or employer has no work for them. They wait several weeks or even several months without receiving a pay check or full time work hours
For ‘fooling’ nurses, agency faces raps Cebu Sunstar 3/23/09
THREE employees from a defunct agency are now facing a syndicated illegal recruitment case for duping nurses into paying more than P500,000 for a job in the United Kingdom (UK).
E. Visayas awaits nurses under jobs program Philippine Inquirer 3/18/09
Over 500 registered nurses, including those who recently passed licensure tests, would land a job in Eastern Visayas under the national government’s Project Nurses Assigned in Rural Service (Nars).
Project Nars is designed to mobilize 10,000 unemployed registered nurses as “warriors for wellness” to 1,000 of the poorest towns in the country to improve the delivery of health care services for six months, according to Department of Health (DOH) assistant regional director Dr. Minerva Molon.
The nurses will initiate primary health, school nutrition, and maternal health programs; first line diagnosis; inform communities about water sanitation practices and also do health surveillance; and immunize children and mothers.
Envoy: UK needs more health workers Cebu Freeman 3/19/09
Aside from healthcare workers, which include nurses, and caregivers, Beckingham said demand for hospitality workers, and entertainers are also strong. This would mean, job opportunities for hotel workers, singers, musicians are growing, although UK is not spared from the global economic slowdown.
What concerns him though is the declining demand for seafarers, and shipping crew demand is getting thinner.
JPEPA secures Japan jobs Manila Times 2/28/09
Nurses, caregivers to get first crack President Gloria Arroyo announced on Friday that Filipino health workers could now work in Japan starting April through the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement
UK restricts visa issuances for nurses Manila Standard Today 2/28/09
THE British Embassy will restrict the number of student visa applications it will process daily because it is clogged with 47,000 applications, many filed by Filipino nurses taking advantage of the National Vocation Qualification program.
Manila signs MOA with 11 nursing schools Philippine Star March 12, 2009
MANILA, Philippines -- Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim today signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with heads of 11 nursing schools in the city that plan to send their nurses to train at a government hospital here. ....now why can't the universities do this themselves here in Cebu to make themselves really part of the educational process???
Obama opposes bringing nurses from overseas 3/16/09 USA
"The notion that we would have to import nurses makes absolutely no sense," Obama told a gathering of health experts and lawmakers at a White House meeting on health care reforms. Last week, a legislation was introduced in the US Congress to create a special category of nursing visas, which would facilitate much faster and easier brining of trained nurses from Asian countries like India.
