Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 22) — Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said he will continue to push for the hiring of nursing graduates who scored at least 70% in their board exam as a temporary solution to the thousands of vacancies in government hospitals.
“It’s a temporary, band-aid solution to a crisis that can actually become bigger as the other countries import our nurses,” Herbosa explained to CNN Philippines’ The Source on Thursday.
While the Philippines is a major provider of nurses abroad, it is left with the problem of shortage of health workers at home.
The DOH earlier said the country is in need of nearly 130,000 of these medical professionals, which may take 12 years to fill.
In government hospitals, there are 4,500 available plantilla positions for nurses.
Herbosa said he wants to fill this by giving temporary licenses to nurses who scored 70% to 74% in their board exam. According to him, Labor Sec. Bienvenido Laguesma already agreed with his plan and will soon meet with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) regarding the matter.
His proposal drew mixed reactions.
Dr. Rontgene Solante, president of Philippine College of Physicians, said he supports the plan since it will provide additional training to the unlicensed nurses.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel said he is not in favor of the proposal because it can diminish the integrity of the testing system.
What the lawmaker suggested is to keep the 75% passing mark and review the board exam to ensure that it focuses on testing the competency and readiness of nurses.
Herbosa said his plan does not intend to change the way nurses are evaluated and given license.
While most hospitals want to increase their capacity, they cannot do so because they do not have the appropriate number of nurses, Herbosa said. A hospital bed would need four of these health workers to function for 24 hours, he noted.
“I’m only trying to fix a problem of lack of nurses in the government hospitals that means lack of nurses means lack of services,” he pointed out.
Aside from this, he said his plan will also help the unlicensed nurses to pass the board exam once they retake it following the training they will receive.
Once they pass the licensure exam, they will then be offered actual jobs in government, the secretary said.
“It’s a developing idea so we will improve it some more,” Herbosa said. “Out of discussion and debate, I do hope we come up with a tangible solution for the nursing crisis in the Philippines.”
Meanwhile, the PRC clarified on Thursday that it cannot issue a temporary license or permit to nursing graduates who have not passed their board exam, based on stipulations from the Republic Act 9173 or the Philippine Nursing Act.
Section 21 of the said law states that the board may issue a special or temporary permit for licensed nurses from foreign countries or states who are well-known specialists, foreign licensed nurses whose services are for a medical mission, or foreign licensed nurses employed by schools as exchange professors.
PRC Commissioner Jose Cueto explained that Herbosa’s plan to give temporary licenses to those who flunked their boards will be placed under supervision if hired by the government.
“Pag pumasa sila at nasatisfy nila ang requirement ay mabibigyan sila ng pribelehiyo, privilege to practice and ang tawag po namin doon, independent practice,” Cueto also said during the Laging Handa Public Briefing.
[Translation: If they pass and they satisfy the requirements, they will be given the privilege to practice — which we call an independent practice.]
The PRC Commissioner noted that the passing rate for the previous two Nurses Licensure Examinations (NLE) breached the 70 percent mark — 74.4% for the November 2022 exam and 74.9% for the May 2023 exam.
In the past six years, PRC said, 113,000 took the NLE but only around 70,000 passed, or an average passing rate of 60%.
