It is not new information that our country has faced a critical shortage of healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, over the years. This has caused concern among citizens and policymakers alike. But until now, the “bleeding” continues, especially as other countries have resumed to attract, recruit, and welcome our nurses in droves.
This dire situation is not lost on the President. In fact, he has acknowledged that the country has become a "victim of its own success" in producing competent healthcare professionals. Since Filipino nurses are sought-after globally, our own land will definitely feel the shortage. Our nursers are lured with attractive salaries, big bonuses, and special perks. Who would turn down a stable job with a nice car and four-bedroom house? Or extensive educational and health benefits for the family?
This situation with our nurses brings to life a sad reality — over 106,000 vacant nursing positions in our local public and private hospitals.
The exodus of nurses seeking better opportunities and compensation abroad has exacerbated the problem. For example, a significant number of nursing graduates took the 2022 examination to practice in the US. This is 129 percent higher than the nurses who took the exam in 2021. This indicates the urgency to find viable solutions to retain skilled healthcare professionals in the country. The President and Health Secretary Dr. Teodoro Herbosa must take swift action to tackle this crisis head-on.
Recognizing the need for an immediate solution, the Department of Health (DOH) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) recently signed a joint administrative agreement to initiate the “Nurse Workforce Complementation and Up-skilling Program.” This agreement allows under-board nurses, fresh graduates, and nursing graduates working in other industries to serve as Clinical Care Associates (CCAs) in public and private hospitals.
These CCAs will be engaged in essential non-core functions and will receive coaching and mentoring until they pass the nursing board exam. This move is a quick-fix solution to immediately bolster the healthcare workforce.
However, both the President and the DOH Secretary acknowledge that this measure is just the beginning. Expanding nursing schools, actively encouraging young individuals to pursue nursing careers, and streamlining the licensure process through more frequent board exams are crucial steps toward a sustainable solution. There is also a commitment to provide free board exam review classes for nursing students conducted by CHED-certified higher education institutions.
CHED Chairman Prospero de Vera III's confidence in the effectiveness of enhanced reskilling and up-skilling, combined with support to pass the licensure exam, offers hope to immediately make nurses available. The aim is to eliminate the lengthy waiting period of four to five years for a strengthened nursing manpower pool.
With this synergy and cooperation among like-minded government agencies and stakeholders, the shortage of nurses that has plagued Philippine hospitals for too long has found a short-term solution. But like a bandaid that may peel off, this may not prove effective in the long run. There still needs to be a continuous effort to retain talent and create an attractive work environment for healthcare professionals. Otherwise, the bleeding is just temporarily stopped and will flow again once there is pain.
