CHEd proposal to address shortage of nurses hit
OVERWORKED BUT UNDERPAID Nurses at work inside a COVID ward during the pandemic in this 2021 file photo. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — Healthcare workers have slammed the proposal of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to implement “exit credentials” to address the shortage of nurses in the country, calling it a mere “band-aid solution.”
Ronald Ignacio, a registered nurse and one of the conveners of United Private Hospital Unions of the Philippines, said such a plan would affect the quality of care provided by Filipino nurses to patients.
“I think it is a mere band-aid solution. This isn’t long-term. And [patients] would question the quality of service because [the nurses] don’t have experience,” he said at a recent press briefing.
Filipino Nurses United vice president Leni Nolasco also criticized the CHEd’s plan as the government should instead solve the problem of low wages that discourage registered nurses to practice their profession, thereby causing understaffing in hospitals.
Nolasco told the Inquirer on Saturday that there was “no shortage issue, but understaffing” in hospitals.
“Raising the salaries of private health workers to match those in the government is a good start. But the nurses’ salaries are not enough,” she said.
Her group has demanded a P50,000 starting salary per month for nurses in the country, calling it a “living wage.”
President Marcos earlier directed the CHEd to carry out interventions to curb the growing number of nurses who either migrate abroad or switch to a more stable career.
Last month, CHEd Chair Prospero de Vera III said his agency would facilitate the signing of memoranda of agreement between the private sector and higher education institutions on the direct hiring of nursing graduates in healthcare facilities, particularly those with “exit credentials.” The proposed shorter program will allow those who completed only one to three years of nursing studies to join the profession and augment the medical workforce.
Based on data from the Department of Health, about half of the 316,405 licensed Filipino nurses had migrated to other countries.
According to Nolasco, a third of this number have chosen not to practice nursing and instead look for more lucrative job opportunities.
