ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider PNA opposes government's plan to address nurse shortage with clinical care associates

PNA opposes government's plan to address nurse shortage with clinical care associates

Published Mar 1, 2024 01:57 pm

The Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) has voiced its opposition to the government's strategy of hiring clinical care associates (CCA) in hospitals to mitigate the shortage of health workers in the country.

MB file photo nurses.jpg
Manila Bulletin File Photo

CCAs, as stated by PNA President Dr. Elmer Bondoc, are individuals who did not pass the licensure examination and are employed in hospitals as clinical care associates.

"Ang trabaho nila ay maihahalintulad sa trabaho ng isang nursing aid, so ito ay mga graduate ng Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program na nakapagtapos ng apat na taon ngunit wala pang lisensya (Their job is similar to that of a nursing aid, so they are graduates of the BSN program who have completed four years but do not yet have a license)," said Bondoc during an interview with TeleRadyo Serbisyo on Friday, March 1.

The PNA's opposition stems from their belief that the program lacks proper legislation.

"Pangalawang dahilan kung bakit namin ito tinututulan ay sapagkat ang pagkakaroon ng mga under boards ay hindi naman solusyon sa requirement ng human resources for health; ang kailangan natin dito ay ang mga licensed professionals (the second reason why we oppose this is because having under boards is not a solution to the requirement of human resources for health, as what we need here are licensed professionals)," Bondoc emphasized

Instead, the PNA urges the government to focus on attracting all graduates who have passed the board exams to fill vacant positions in healthcare facilities across the Philippines.

"Based on our data, from the licensure exams held in November 2022, May 2023, and November 2023, we produced 54,964 registered nurses with licenses," Bondoc mentioned, stressing the importance of incentivizing these professionals to work in local healthcare facilities.

He also highlighted that the heart of hospital operations lies with their colleagues.

Meanwhile, the PNA President expressed suspicion that the government's decision to pursue the CCA program is driven by hospitals offering lower salaries to clinical associates.

"In the joint administrative order signed, the stipulation is that the CCA shall be receiving a salary that is said to be within regular wage pay, which is anchored on their location," he said.

Despite hospitals already hiring 300 clinical associates, the PNA emphasizes prioritizing attracting nurse board passers to work in local hospitals before seeking opportunities abroad.

"Ngunit kung hindi mabibigyan ng karampatang sahod ang mga health workers dito sa bansa e mapipilitan talagang maghanap ng may mas mataas na sahod sa ibang bansa (But if healthcare workers in the country are not given appropriate salaries, they will really be forced to seek work abroad)," Bondoc emphasized.

He stressed the importance of providing competitive salaries to prevent healthcare professionals from leaving the country for better opportunities.

Bondoc added that salaries are indeed high in other countries because they can provide for the needs of nurses that the Philippines cannot.

"That has been our battle cry for the government to give us enough reason for our nurses to stay in the Philippines so they won't leave," he pointed out.

Moreover, the PNA called for the government to offer salaries at salary grade 15 for private and public hospitals “without delay,” considering the high inflation rate in the Philippines.

The PNA's stance underscores the critical need for sustainable solutions to address the healthcare worker shortage and retain skilled professionals within the Philippine healthcare system.

Related Tags

Philippine Nurses Association
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.