“With our policies and initiatives underway, I invite all of you to realize our collective vision: a clear roadmap for nursing practice in the country…”

April 13, 2023 — This was the call of Department of Health (DOH) Officer-In-Charge Maria Rosario S. Vergeire as she graced the closing of the International Scientific Conference in Nursing 2023 held  April 12, 2023 at the Rizal Park Hotel, Manila City. 

In her presentation, she itemized the plans of the government for the next decade which are envisioned to raise the nursing situation in the country. These plans are patterned on the National Human Resources for Health Master Plan 2020-2040. 

These plans include: 

(1) Sustaining the enthusiasm of local nurses towards the nursing profession by providing a clear path for them and continuously improving the culture and quality of nursing courses in different universities and colleges; 

(2) Retaining Filipino nurses in the country by expanding their career opportunities, not just in clinical practice but also in other fields like research and education, as well as to strengthen their capacity building opportunities to best prepare them in their enhanced goals; and 

(3) Reintegration of Filipino nurses returning abroad by providing them with positions in specialty centers and assigning them as leads in national capacity building initiatives.

She also bannered the embedded culture of caring (or pagkalinga) in the country which predates colonial times, and said that this is the reason why the Philippines produces and provides nurses worldwide that are highly astute in their specialized professions. 

Francis Nicole G. Maga