Tomakin: Nursing Realities

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

THE results for the Nurse Licensure Examination given by the Board of Nursing last December 2010 were already released. Out of the 84,287 total number of examinees who took it, 35.25% passed, equivalent to 29,711.

Be it also noted that in the July 2010 examination, 37,679 out of 91,008 (41.40%) passed. These numbers are staggering. If we try to add up, in 2010 alone, there were 175,295 examinees all hoping to become nurses. And even if we count those who passed, 67,390, do we have available nursing jobs for all of them? Certainly not.

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There are just too many nurses competing for a dearth of available nursing jobs and the practice of hiring and retaining our nurses is not helpful either. I remember back in 1995 when I passed the Philippine nursing board exam. At the time, I thought that my 9th place ranking in the exam would help me boost my chances in landing a nursing job. But reality sunk in. I learned that I had to prove my worth like the rest of the applicants.

I had to go through the rigors of job hunting and application and its accompanying frustrations and disappointment. What was most especially unforgettable was that I was told by the city human resource officer that she could not hire me even if I had the most impressive credentials among all the applicants because I do not have a politician endorsing me. I argued that I could have gotten that endorsement from a distant relative who was a local city councilor but I just wanted to be evaluated based on my own merits.

"Too late and too bad, said the HR officer, "that is not how we do it here."

That was my first taste of real life job discrimination. I was sure that I was not the only one who experienced it as this practice of "padrino system" has always been the norm of employment practice in the Philippines. With the scarcity of jobs, abundance of interested applicants along with the built-in culture of nepotism and political patronage, what job could you expect to have if you are not well connected? I even know one board topnotcher who cannot find a nursing job and had to work at Jollibee! With all the high cost of nursing education and the rigorous four years of training, this is what you get?

Granting you are hired by a private hospital, how much pay do you get as an entry level staff nurse? What benefits do you have? Do you have security of tenure?

Even if you work at a government hospital which pays higher, the government does not even fully implement the benefits guaranteed under the Magna Carta of Public Health Workers. I know this. I used to work at a public hospital before.

But there is always hope. There is no doubt that the demand for nurses continues to surge in the foreseeable future. In the Philippines, there are programs initiated by the Department of Health in order to provide employment for our nurses. Abroad, nursing employment is no longer limited to US and the Middle East. There are other nations such as Japan, Spain and other European countries which have opened their doors for foreign workers. It is comforting to note that most employers still prefer to hire Filipino nurses because of our good education, apparent ease in English communication, and our innate values of hard work, patience and perseverance.

As far as US nursing opportunities are concerned, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing cites an analysis made by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) which projected that "more than 581,500 new RN positions will be created through 2018, which would increase the size of the RN workforce by 22 percent.

Employment of RNs is expected to grow much faster than the average when compared to all other professions."

No doubt, the present nursing situation - from education to employment - needs to be reformed. Our nursing curriculum must be updated in order to keep up with the evolving trends of the profession. Our schools should be held accountable that it provides the best nursing education and training available. Our government should create and encourage more employment opportunities for our nurses both in the private and public sector and that hiring and retention practices are fair and equitable. It must see to it that nurses receive decent wages and benefits. And while nurses still look for better opportunities abroad, the government must ensure that the Philippine health system does not suffer due to the shortage of skilled healthcare professionals.

It is such an arduous and delicate task.

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This column is not a substitute for professional legal advice obtained from a US licensed immigration attorney. The information contained herein does not constitute a warranty or guarantee or legal advice regarding a reader's specific immigration case. No attorney-client relationship is and shall be established with any reader.

For any questions, comments and observations, please contact Atty. Marco Tomakin at mtomakin@gmail.com or at 0917-964-3365; 0909-270-1058; (032) 236-7494; (032) 254-9697.