Health chief orders stop to 'nurse volunteerism'

Health Secretary Enrique Ona told hospitals run by the Department of Health (DOH) to stop volunteer programs that take in registered nurses in exchange for “work experience" as well as training fees. In a memo dated August 22, 2011, Ona said that the practice was inconsistent with the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 9418 or the Volunteer Act of 2007. The act defines a “volunteer" as an individual or group that offers their services for free in the name of “socio-developmental, business or corporate orientation, commitment or conviction for the attainment of the public good and where monetary and other incentives or reward are not the primary motivating factors." “Many hospitals have implemented ‘nurse volunteerism’ in the guise of ‘training programs’ in order to justify the collection of ‘training fees,’ whereby such basic skills training put no added value to the professional career of the nurses," said Ona. Stop "training programs" Some hospitals in the country implement a “training program" with registered nurses working for free while getting “training fees" ranging from P3,000 to P7,000, according to a Senate investigation. The program typically lasts from six weeks to eight months. “All DOH hospitals are hereby directed to discontinue all existing programs involving nurses who deliver free services in exchange for work experience/volunteer nurses, volunteer trainings, and all other similar programs," said Ona. Ona added that hospital-based training programs for nurses should follow a “definite career progression" that the Health Department and the Professional Regulatory Commission-Board of Nursing will set. In March this year, Mountain Province Representative Maximo Dalog already pointed out how the practice of taking in registered nurses as "volunteers" was against RA 9418. Dalog said that the practice turned trainees into something "worse than slaves." "Exploitation" of nurses Early this year, the Senate began investigating the alleged exploitation of registered nurses by hospitals that hired them as on-the-job trainees and not as regular employees. Several congressmen also urged President Benigno Aquino III to order hospitals to stop the practice of charging “exorbitant" fees against nurses who are rendering service on behalf of the institution and under the guise of training for the job. Representative Emerenciana de Jesus of women’s rights party-list Gabriela said, “mabigat talaga ito para sa kanila, lalo na kung libu-libo ang sinisingil. [President Aquino] can order to halt these fees, especially on registered nurses who have already passed the board exams." Despite an oversupply of nurses in the country, outdated government charters have forced public hospitals to limit the nurse-to-patient ratio to one nurse for every 40 to 50 patients. The global standard is to have one nurse for every eight to 10 patients. http://www.gmanews.tv/story/213475/specialreports/oversupply-of-nurses-forces-them-to-pay-to-work-for-free The “training programs" of some hospitals allow them not only to increase their nurse-to-patient ratios for free, but also raise revenues through the “training" fees that nurses have to pay. — BC/PE/VS/HS, GMA News