A "nursing assistant" position with a salary grade nine or P21,129 is proposed for nurses who are yet to pass the board exam, Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Teodoro "Ted" Herbosa said in a media conference on Friday, June 23.
Photo courtesy of Ali Vicoy | MB
"There is now an opening for unlicensed where unlicensed nurses...we're offering already a salary grade nine and so now we call a nursing assistant. So that's been approved by the execom [executive committee] last Monday or Tuesday," said the health chief.
Herbosa also added that the Professional Regulation Commission is not totally against hiring non-passers but is very supportive and is helping him find ways to fill the nursing vacancies.
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Aside from this, one other measure they are studying is an amendment to Republic Act 9173, or the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002, in light of the urgency of the "brain drain" situation, particularly since DOH needs as many nurses as possible for the implementation of the Universal Health Care Act.
On the safety issue, Herbosa said that the license has nothing to do with it and relies on the hospitals themselves.
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The unlicensed nurses would also not be a "burden" for their supervising registered nurses, who earn P36,619 (salary grade 15) for entry-level, as government hospitals need the maximum number of healthcare workers due to the large volume of patients.
He is set to meet with Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma to formally discuss solutions to the matter.
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The DOH secretary admitted that nurses' workload in the Philippines is indeed heavy because hospitals are short-staffed.
"Bakit mabigat ang trabaho, kasi kulang nga sila. Isipin niyo yon, if you're taking care of a hospital and kulang yung [plantilla] items mo, a nurse starts to take care of more patients so mabigat ang trabaho kasi may unfilled items eh. So iko-cover mo yung unfilled items so that the service continues (Why is the work heavy, it is because they are lacking. Think about it, if you are taking care of a hospital and your plantilla items are not enough, a nurse starts to take care of more patients. So the work is heavy because there are unfilled items, you cover the unfilled items so that the service continues)," he explained.
Moreover, he also ordered his team to create an online application that will be linked to the eGov Super App, where licensed nurses can easily find job openings.
READ:Hiring unlicensed nurses is 'risky,' says PH Nurses Assoc head