Exodus of Filipino nurses seen if US immigration bill is passed

Many Filipino nurses are looking forward to the passage of a proposed immigration bill in the United States, because it would also ease restrictions on the entry of foreign nurses in that country. A New York Times special report cited a "little-noticed provision" in an immigration bill pending in the US Senate that could potentially drain the nursing resources of developing countries like the Philippines, which is already deploying thousands of nurses to the US, the United Kingdom, and other parts of the world. The US newspaper said, if the bill is passed, the provision would be effective until 2014 and does not provide for compensation for affected countries. GMA-7 newscast “24 Oras," reported Thursday that if the bill is passed, there could be as many as 100,000 job openings for Filipino nurses. Nursing graduates lining up to take the board examination interviewed by “24 Oras" said they look forward to higher pay from US nursing jobs. Philippine hospitals are already hurting from the dearth of nurses. In the case of Marybeth Paglinawan, a nurse and in-charge of the recovery ward of the Tondo Medical Station, the ratio is one nurse for every 68 patients. Based on World Health organization (WHO) standards, the ratio should be 1 nurse per 8 patients. Paglinawan also admitted that she has a plan to work abroad as a nurse in the future. “Meron din (plano mag-abroad) pero hindi pa sa ngayon. Medyo mahirap din, na enjoy ko na rin (kasi) ang work ko, mahirap na rin iwan," Paglinawan said. (I also plan to work abroad but not now. It’s a difficult decision. I also enjoy my job here, it would be hard to leave it.) She said her P14,000 a month salary could go up to as much as P100,000 if she worked in the US. The possible exodus of Filipino nurses doesn’t bother the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) because they actually believed there is a surplus of nurses in the country. The DOLE said they just ask local nurses to serve first their countrymen before they work abroad so they would also have the necessary training and experience. The problem, though, is that nurses who stay in the country are those who are ill-trained and inexperienced. To solve this problem, the Department of Health (DOH) wants to close an agreement with the US government to also train nurses in the country regarding the new method and technology on health care. Nurses who prefer to stay in the Philippines are urging the government to attend to their needs particularly the low salary. Malacañang, for its part, sees no problem with a possible exodus of Filipino nurses to the United States if an immigration bill in that country is passed and lifts the limit on the entry of foreign nurses, saying it would also mean higher dollar remittances. Asked if the government has measures to avert possible effects of the bill on the country's medical system, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said: "This is the first time we heard about the proposed bill but I don't think we can prevent our manpower from seeking greener pastures." "But at the same time, even as they leave the country, they send back resources which in turn help their families and even some younger siblings to take up similar courses that they are leaving behind," Bunye added. He said that the country could "try to accelerate the training of persons who are engaged in the medical services. I don't think we will have a shortage of qualified manpower." –GMANews.TV