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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider PH public nurses being 'pirated' by other countries--solon

PH public nurses being 'pirated' by other countries--solon

Published Jan 28, 2024 06:02 am

At A Glance

  • Quezon City 4th district Rep. Marvin Rillo has called on Congress to take "strong action" to retain nurses in the public health sector after an apparent shortage of health practitioners due to overseas migration.

FB_IMG_1679675737041.jpgQuezon City 4th district Rep. Marvin Rillo (Rep. Rillo's Facebook page)

Quezon City 4th district Rep. Marvin Rillo has called on Congress to take “strong action” to retain nurses in the public health sector after an apparent shortage of health practitioners due to overseas migration.

“We must increase the base pay of our public nurses who are now being ‘pirated’ aggressively by hospitals in America and other countries,” the lawmaker said in a statement on Sunday, Jan. 28.

Rillo, vice chairperson of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, made this appeal after 36,410 Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) graduates from the Philippines reportedly spent a combined P405 million in fees to take the United States (UN) licensure examination.

“The 36,410 is a record high and nearly double when compared to the 18,617 Philippine-educated nurses that took the US licensure test for the first time (excluding repeaters) in 2022,” Rillo said.

He said the exam costs US $200, or around P11,000, for a nursing graduate to register and take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX).

The NCLEX, administered by the US National Council of State Boards of Nursing Inc. (NCSBN), is a computerized adaptive examination taken by individual appointment in any of the 76 accredited international testing locations in 18 countries. The only NCLEX testing site in the country is in Makati City.

In a bid to dissuade nurses “from seeking greener pasture abroad”, Rillo has renewed his call to the House of Representatives to pass his pet bill that sought to increase by 75 percent the starting base pay of public nurses

Under House Bill (HB) No. 5276, the starting pay of public nurses would be bumped up to P63,997 per month.

In the Senate, Senator Sonny Angara has filed Senate Bill (SB) No. 638, which seeks to improve the entry-level monthly salary of nurses employed by the government to P51,357.

Public nurses currently receive a monthly salary of only P36,619.

Rillo is adamant in his intention to retain nurses in the Philippines after reports of local governments being unable to upgrade hospitals due to the lack of nursing staff.

“We would urge provincial, city, and municipal governments as well as private corporate foundations to encourage students to take up nursing by offering full scholarships,” the Quezon city solon said.

He cited the case of Northern Samar, which recently passed an ordinance giving scholarships to nursing students to help address the province’s shortage of practitioners.

Related Tags

monthly salary Health industry marvin rillo Nurses
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