The Future of Nursing in the Philippines

What do you envision for the profession of nursing in the future in the Philippines?
- According to the World Health Organization, our country is the number-one source for
finding qualified nursing graduates. Our country supplies 25% of all overseas nurses around
the world.

What are some of the challenges you see facing the nursing profession in the future in the
Philippines? 1
True, hospitals close shop because they have no nurses and doctors left to man their wards. However, this
cannot be fully attributed to the mass exodus of nurses to 1st world countries. Every year, thousands enrol
to nursing schools, thousands more graduate from these schools, and a great number of this, pass the
licensure examinations and become nurses. There is a constant supply of nurses. The shortage is in the job
vacancies. Some hospitals simply refuse to hire more people as a way to cut operational costs. This is a fact.

Point #2
Nurses in government hospitals are underpaid yet overworked. In some cases, the nurse to patient ratio is
as bad as 1:50. That's one underpaid and overworked nurse tasked to care for fifty patients with varying
needs. As if this is not enough, they are constantly at great risk of losing their hard-earned license and
means of livelihood should they commit grave oversights.

Point #3
Nurses undergo a 4-year rigorous academic and clinical training before they even get to sit for a licensure
examination and this entails huge financial costs. While other courses get allowances from corporations
when they undergo On-the-Job practicums, it is the opposite for student nurses. Student nurses pay training
institutions varying amounts of affiliation fee for every day of duty. Add to that the cost of the supplies that
will be used for every day of duty. The point that I'm trying to get at is that obtaining a nursing education
involves tremendous financial costs that is unheard of in other professions/fields (I should know, nursing is
my 2nd degree) and yet, a professional nurse's average pay is comparable or near to minimum wage.
Nurses also have mouths to feed and bodies to keep warm (Read: families).

Point #4
In the early years of nurse migration, critics claim that the continuous migration of nurses to 1st world
country would result to a problem they call, "Brain Drain." This is the phenomenon where the best skilled

and trained nurses leave and the less than stellar ones (Read: incompetent) remain to care for the filipino.
In recent years, a rather exaggerated term has been created to describe the phenomenon. They now call it,
"Brain Hemorrhage." While there may be some ounce of truth to the claim, I see it as self-defeating. It's
"damn if you do, damn if you don't" If nurses migrate, they contribute to the health care decay that is the
"Brain Drain" However, if they choose to be "patriotic" and remain in the service of the filipino, they are
generally described as "incompetent" if we are to follow the logic of the "Brain Drain" phenomenon.

Point #5
Filipino nurses working abroad earn more than your average Overseas Filipino Worker. Thus, by simple
math, it can be safely assumed that they are able to make more dollar remittance to their families in the
Philippines. This means stronger peso for the the economy, lesser cost for social services for the
government, families left behind get access to quality education, healthcare, and a generally better life. It is
a well established fact that OFWs are the lifeblood of our country's economy. This is why OFWs are called
"modern day heroes." Then why discriminate on the nurse OFW?

Nurses are human beings too like any other Tom, Dick, or Harry. They have dreams, aspirations, wants, and
needs. If they choose to leave the country to find a greener pasture elsewhere, it should not be taken
against them as it is just human nature to satisfy one's need. Each one of us has a right to pursue our goals
and dreams. Engineers work in the middle east so they can earn their keep and realize their dreams;
Seamen go on long and arduous voyages so thay can give their families a glimpse of the goodlife. Why can't
nurses do the same?