It was Oct. 17, 1958 that then President Carlos P. Garcia signed Proclamation No. 539, which designated the last week of October to be Nurses’ Week in the Philippines. The observance of this has since then been entrusted to what used to be known as the Filipino Nurses Association, now called the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA). Incidentally, the PNA has also celebrated its 101st anniversary this year, with a gathering held at the Iloilo Convention Center from Oct. 24 to 26.
Nurses have always been important contributors in the world’s healthcare industry. They provide immediate attention to those who are in need of medical aid, as partners of doctors and other medical professionals. They are the forward-facing or client-facing, to borrow terms from modern business parlance, players of any medical institution, often the first to deal with clients (a.k.a. patients). The difference is, nurses go beyond just the “business” of healthcare. They embody, in almost every sense of the word, “care” in the medical profession.
Together with physicians and other medical practitioners, nurses have played pivotal roles in the country’s struggle against Covid-19. Their contribution has undoubtedly been one of the most significant. Many Filipino nurses have been recognized for their work, not just in the country but also overseas. One such example was the story of that Filipino nurse working in the UK, who gave the world’s first Covid jab in 2020.
Yet even before the Covid-19 era, nurses have also been one of the major contributors in the Philippine economy, with many of them working abroad as overseas Filipinos. Their contributions have been so recognized that for a great number of foreign nationals, it was quite common for their experience with Filipinos to be one of the medical kind, with nurses leading the way.
The PNA, as part of its 2030 Roadmap, recognizes this and wishes to improve this culture of excellence among Filipino nurses. It seeks to continually develop and train “globally competitive Filipino nurses providing quality and excellent care,” whether in the country or elsewhere. This will be done primarily by providing and sustaining “relevant and responsive continuing education for nurses.”
Past the surge of nursing graduates in the early 2000s, there seems to have been no shortage of the need for nurses. This is, of course, not surprising especially in a post-pandemic world, where healthcare remains to be one of the most crucial aspects of any functioning society. Nurses play a crucial role in this society and the Philippines can and should always be proud that, whether here or abroad, Filipino nurses are at the forefront of providing genuine care for those who are in need of any medical help.
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