RP Has 100,000 Surplus Nurses, PRC Says

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Lore Renopa) The Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC) said Thursday it is worried about the growing number of unemployed nurses in the country, despite the exodus of thousands who had gone abroad to work.

PRC Board Member Anesia Dionesio said the country should not be worried about the exodus of nurses as it has maintained a surplus of more than 100,000.

Instead the country, she said, should worry about the growing number of unemployed registered nurses at home, rather than those who went abroad to work. "We have a surplus of over 100,000 nurses and many are still without jobs," Dionisio said.

The Department of Labor and Employment and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said the country has about 60,000 nurses working abroad.

PRC records show that there have been no shortage of nurses, although many experienced nurses go abroad to work because of promise of huge pay and attractive incentives.

Filipino nurses are in-demand in many hospitals abroad because they can speak better English than their Asian counterpart, aside from being honest and hard-working.

Dionesio cited low salary and absence of experienced nurses that largely contribute to the increasing number of unemployed or those who are not practicing their profession.

Dionesio said the unemployment figure is steadily increasing because also of the low passing percentage in examinations and the increasing number of nursing schools in the country.

From only 17 schools of nursing in 1907, the country now has at least 429.

"The moment they finished school and graduate, the next questions are how many more surplus nurses are we going to have? And where will they go?," the PRC official said.

She said it was wrong to impress that all nurses who graduated from schools are automatically employed or can easily find a job. "That is the false impression. Nurses do not get jobs the moment the graduate and that's why we have so many surplus nurses now," she said.

Dionesio lamented that some schools are allegedly making money from the nursing course.

She did not elaborate, but many schools are now offering courses related to the nursing profession, although, some lack competent teachers and equipment, unlike other big universities.

Many nursing students also end up as care-givers because of lack of job opportunities for them.

The Philippines has the most number of nursing schools and is known to produce more nurses than any other country.

In 1999 alone, the country produced more than 20,000 registered nurses, according to the Manila Journal of the University of the Philippines.

Dionesio said there is a pending moratorium they passed to the Commission on Higher Education asking the agency to limit the number of new nursing schools in the country.

The PRC is also aggresively pushing for the implementation of a much higher standard for nursing schools by limiting the enrollment of students base on the school resources.

Dionesio said what the nurses need are good internship trainings and clinical experience to make them more competent and at par with their foreign counterparts.