Begh chief nurse Virginia Saguidec said the turnover of nurse in the hospital is just as fast.
"But we have no choice, we can't pay them dollars, so we have to let them go," she said.
The average stay of a nurse at the hospital, Saguidec said, is two to three years, which is the minimum number of years required by employers abroad.
"When we hire new nurses, we get their commitment to serve the hospital for at least two to three years. After this time and they start asking for leaves (of absence) we already know they are processing their applications (for abroad)," she said.
But she said new graduates who work as volunteers at the hospital immediately replace those leaving for jobs overseas. The hospital recently screened seven new nurses to fill up its vacancy.
"There are 86 staff nurses and 81 volunteers at Begh," Saguidec said.
Meanwhile, Begh head Joseph Cabinta confirmed that there are doctors at the hospital who enroll in nursing courses. "But the danger (on the lack of doctors) as a consequence is not present here," he said.
