“We all have a role to play in contributing to the needs of our nurses and once these needs are established, we must be part of the solution,” asserted Miranda. He added that as we raise our hands, we must unite and embody the spirit of the Philippine nursing profession in the country.
The Philippines is a major exporter of nurses to other nations’ healthcare institutions. This reality has been contributing to the shortage of nurses in the country.
Melvin D. Miranda, president of the Philippine Nurses Association, discussed the longstanding concern of nursing professionals’ migration in the Philippines during the International Scientific Conference in Nursing held at the Rizal Park Hotel on April 12, 2023.
He bared a World Health Organization prediction that the global demand for nurses will rise to 13 million over the next 10 years while the International Council of Nurses hinted that a workforce of 28 million nurses would be required to meet the healthcare needs of populations worldwide.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports that 240,000 nurses from the Philippines have already been sent to countries like Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, and Iceland, with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 departing each year. This migration trend raises concerns about the availability of nurses in far-flung areas of the country in the future.
During his presentation, he referred to a study conducted by ABS-CBN in 2023 which found a total of 99,659 newly licensed nurses from 2015 to 2022. In the same period, it was shown that a significantly higher number of nurses, 114,952, were deployed overseas.
This data suggests that more nurses are leaving the country than those being produced. He also mentioned a Department of Health statement that the country needs 106,000 nurses. However, this does not guarantee 106,000 plantilla positions due to the non-appropriation of funds.
He asserted that the Philippine Nurses Association has been actively lobbying for the welfare and professional development of nurses in the country and has called for the implementation of a retention plan to encourage nurses to stay.
One of the common denominators of the concern among nurses is salary and compensation, particularly in the private sector. The Private Hospital Association of the Philippines has noted that during the pandemic, nurses experienced a 40% resignation rate, and some hospitals even closed their units due to the shortage of human resources.
In the government setting, Miranda pointed out that the current salary situation of nurses in Salary Grade Levels 5 to 7 is a cause for concern. While nurses under Nurse 1 and Nurse 2 levels are expected to receive a salary grade of 15 to 16, the Department of Budget and Management has reported that there is no legal basis for adjusting the salaries of nurses in levels 5, 6, and 7.
This issue needs to be addressed as reports of supervisors and head nurses resigning due to lack of opportunities for career advancement have emerged. Other countries have certification programs that enable nurses to advance their practice. In the United States, there is a Nurse Practitioner Program established to address the shortage of physicians, resulting in a higher pay grade for those who complete the program.
“We all have a role to play in contributing to the needs of our nurses and once these needs are established, we must be part of the solution,” asserted Miranda. He added that as we raise our hands, we must unite and embody the spirit of the Philippine nursing profession in the country.
Charmaine Lingdas
