PRC: Nearly 290,000 nursing grads underemployed

Val Gucman enjoys his job as a driver but he is actually a registered nurse (RN). Gucman is one of some 287,000 RN in the country who are unable to practice their professions for lack of job opportunities. "Everytime na sinasabi na RN ka, bakit nagdridrive ka? Doon lang po ako nalulungkot. Tapos yung parents ko nga po, nahihiya rin po ako sa kanila. Kasi sabi ko, antay lang, tapos sabi nila taon na antay pa rin," Gucman said in an interview over the "24 Oras" newscast on Thursday.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV According to the report on "24 Oras," the DOH does not encourage students to enroll in nursing. According to the DOH, the demand now is higher for other health workers like medical technologists and respiratory therapists. "Ang tinitingnan natin ngayon, mas maayos nang magseek muna sa ibang health sciences more than nursing. Bakit? Dahil nga sa maraming nurses ngayon kung titingnan natin kung nasaan sila ngayon hindi silang lahat nakakapasok sa sistema ng pangkalusugan," said Dr. Kenneth Ronquillo, Director of the Health Human Resource Development Bureau. According to TESDA, the jobs in demand are in agri-business, the BPO industry, creative industries including animation, construction and maritime industry. There is also a significant demand for baristas and massage therapists. "Ang nakakatuwa po ay technical vocational education has become not just an alternative, kung di ito ay naging choice na ng mga kabataan, siguro because of the fact na maikli lang ang iuukol na panahon, mas mura at minsan libre kung tesda centers ka pupunta. Ito rin ay sensitive sa needs ng ating mga industriya," said Joel Villanueva, TESDA Director General. Working for free Philippine Nurses Association president Teresita Barcelo, in a report of GMA News Online in February, said many nursing graduates are forced to work as volunteers due to the oversupply of nurses in the country. “In the volunteer nurse scheme, hospitals are able to cut costs and at the same time raise revenues through the fees paid by the volunteer nurse or nurse trainees. This practice saves hospitals money because they don’t have to hire regular staff nurses," Barcelo explained. According to the report, the global standard is to have one nurse for every 8-10 patients. However, this is hardly observed in most local hospitals, the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) said. Tracing the problem Barcelo said the supply problem began sometime in 2003, when foreign manpower experts projected that the global demand for nurses was estimated to be “about 1 million by 2020." There was a huge leap in the demand for nursing courses, with about 170 nursing schools in 2003 more than doubling to 472 schools in 2010. The huge number of enrolees translated to a bigger number of student-nurses seeking affiliation with hospitals, crowding out available slots for training. By July 2008, when the nursing boom started producing graduates, PNA issued a statement saying, “many Filipino nurses are now underemployed and unemployed." “The domestic market is now oversaturated, with nursing pools in major hospitals as high as 1,500 and with employment waiting times ranging from six to 12 months. Nursing pools refer to those deemed qualified by hospital employers but waiting to be formally employed," the PNA said. “The current nursing employment market is a buyers market that allows current employers to be highly selective and where the quality of a vast number of job seekers is very closely scrutinized," the PNA added. Fewer Pinoys seeking nursing jobs in US An earlier report of GMA News Online said the number of Filipino nursing graduates aspiring to practice their profession in the United States has dropped. Only 1,454 Filipino nursing graduates took the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) from January-March this year compared to 3,024 graduates in the same period last year, said Rep. Arnel Ty of party-list Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers Association (LPGMA) in an earlier report. The statistics has prompted Ty to file a bill seeking to establish a special jobs plan for the country’s growing number of unemployed and underemployed nurses. “The country now has tens of thousands of nurses who are either totally jobless or performing work that has nothing to do with their specialization," Ty said. - VVP, GMA News