UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG FILIPINO NURSES CLARIFIED

Several months ago, news of unemployment among Filipino nurses remained afloat with the number reaching up to about 400,000. Statistics from the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), particularly on its “Market Trend” analysis, revealed that while unemployment and underemployment is a fact in Philippine Nursing, there is inaccuracy in these reports. The DOLE and the Board of Nursing (BON) acted with dispatch to review available data which revealed that from 1952 to 2008 the country has registered or licensed 480,992 Filipino nurses out of 523,272 who actually passed the Philippine Nurse Licensure Examinations.

According to DOLE data the total number of Filipino nurses employed between October 2001 & 2007 was 58,000 (fifty eight which represented 3.86% of the total employed professional workers (1.5 million) reflected in the National Statistics Office, Labor Force Survey as source of data. However, it is important to consider that there is actually a market slowdown starting

2006, when the demand for Filipino nurses started to plateau as a result of the retrogression in the US market and a change of nursing employment policy in the UK. The previous high demand for Filipino nurse has kept our nursing pool in the country relatively large. Despite the number of nurses reportedly deployed/employed there still is a slow-down in the hiring of newly passed nurses. While this is a fact, the actual unemployment and underemployment figures would only range to about 80,000 and the developments in the international job markets remain to be bright and still promising.

Other data on nursing in the Philippines that are worthy to note are:

1. From 27,833 nursing enrolees recorded in academic year 2000-2001, there was a record high of 453,896 enrolees in academic year 2006-2007 or an annual average growth rate of 62%. (Source of data: CHED)

2. The number of nursing graduates showed an increasing trend for the period 2000– 2005, with 140.5% increase in the number of graduates in SY 2004 - 2005 (Source of data: CHED)

3. From 2001-2008, the number of board examinees was on the rise. The passing rate exhibited a declining trend from a high of 55.8% in 1998 to a low of 45.2% in 2006 or an annual average of 49.5%. In June 2008, the passing rate (43.1%) was lower than the average registered for the period 1998-2007. In addition, 1 out of every 5 colleges of nursing registers a “zero” passing mark, which is indicative of the questionable quality of education and/or decreasing quality of students admitted for the nursing profession. Source of data: PRC

4. From 1998 to June 2008, 224,961 did not pass the Philippines Nurse Licensure Examination. This figure is 32% higher than the 169,766 combined local and foreign demand for nurses. What could be done with this human resources in the country?

5. The migration of “experienced” nurses who are highly skilled (5-15 years) and specialists in their fields of expertise actually creates a vacuum in the local health care delivery system. Most nurses locally employed are new graduates who lack experience and skills which pose serious implications on the quality of health care provided our own countrymen. One of the push factors for migration is the wide discrepancy in the salaries of our nurses employed One of the push factors for migration is the wide discrepancy in the salaries of our nurses employed locally and overseas (US$4,000- US; $700-1,500 in KSA; and US$180-220 in the Philippines)

As the results of the November 2008 Nurse Licensure Examination was released where 39,455 out of 88,649 passed, the challenge now is to put in place real ‘honest to goodness’ measures that will address long standing problems/concerns; measures that are proactive and meant to provide medium and long-term solutions and not temporary band-aid remedies. It is to be emphasized that the data listed above impacts not only the economic life of the nurses but the health and well-being of the country as well.

A vigilant watch on the current global economic conditions and the responses of host economies will help prepare us as Filipino OFW nurses get affected by the global economic crises. Now is the time for all Filipino nurses to close ranks and consider contingency measures for the collective good of the nursing sector to cushion the effects of the said global economic crisis which will definitely impact the Filipino nurses, their families, and the country as a whole.


source: http://www.bonphilippines.org/