Jobless nurses urged to try alternative BPO jobs

MANY jobless registered nurses are going to business process outsourcing (BPO) firms to try their luck to be call center agents.

The Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) is all for it but not for the usual “headset with microphone” jobs.

According to Dole Undersecretary Danilo Cruz, the government is strongly urging nurses without jobs to try the alternative BPO jobs they can apply to.

“Right now, our nurses can explore the BPO industry for exciting employment and career opportunities. There are certain occupations in the BPO industry that directly relate to the professional background and work experience of our nurses,” said Cruz in a press forum organized by the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP).

The official said these include jobs such as medical butlers, care management analysts, customer service associates for medical account, medical transcriptionists, clinical abstractors, medical billers, and medical coders.

Dole noted that healthcare outsourcing jobs have starting pays ranging from P14,000 to P18,000.

Cruz said the department, through the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), can offer retooling program or skills related courses/training for nurses, who are interested to try these occupations.

Based on the data of the Dole, more than 220,000 registered nurses are being seen as either unemployed in health institutions or have no job at all.

“We can estimate that some 221,323 registered nurses were either unemployed or underemployed,” said the official.

Cruz said the number is based on the number of Nursing Board exam passers from the period of 2001 to 2011, which was at 421,468, with 132,943 nurses finding employment abroad, while only 67,202 are working in the country. (HDT/Sunnex)