Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 20) — The president of the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) on Tuesday said he agrees with the plan of Health Secretary Ted Herbosa to hire unlicensed nurses who scored at least 70% in their board exam.
“These are nurses that have already graduated, that passed the college years and at the same time, for me, are already competent except that they are not board passers. They are board eligible,” PCP President Rontgene Solante told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
The Philippines, a major deployer of health workers overseas, has a shortage of nearly 130,000 nurses, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
Filipino nurses often seek better wages and working conditions abroad, leading to the big gap between supply and demand. The DOH estimated it would take around 12 years to fill the gap at an average of over 10,000 nursing graduates each year.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Herbosa said Labor Sec. Bienvenido Laguesma already agreed with his plan.
“Kasi technically, may alam ‘yon kasi nasagot ‘yong 70% ng tanong sa board exam,” the health chief pointed out. “So ang gagawin ko lang, i-h‘hire ko siya.”
[Translation: Technically, they have the knowledge because they were able to score 70% in the board exam. So what I will do is hire them.]
Herbosa said Laguesma will meet with the Professional Regulation Commission so these graduates will be given temporary licenses.
For nursing graduates to obtain their professional license, they must pass the board exam with a minimum score of 75%.
Solante said allowing these nursing graduates to work in hospitals will be an incentive for them since the training they will receive can help them eventually pass the licensure test.
“When they will be employed, because they are still nurses, kailangan lang talaga nila ng (they only need) additional layer of training,” he added.
If this will be implemented, hospitals should make sure these nurses are guided by licensed medical personnel, he noted. This will be the same as mentoring medical students which is a common practice in the field, he said.
Early this month, Herbosa first mentioned the idea of possibly hiring nursing graduates to work in government hospitals even before obtaining their license.
