PRC, CHED assures: Gov’t addressing concerns of nursing profession
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) assured that the government is doing its best to address the concerns presently hounding the nursing profession such as over-subscription and the over-supply of nurses resulting to unemployment or underemployment.
Such assurance was made by PRC Commissioner Atty. Jennifer Jardin-Manalili and CHED Assistant Regional Director Dr. Ramon Santiago during the Regional Student Nurses’ Congress which was held here at the St. Louis University.
According to Manalili, nursing graduates remain to be the top clients of the PRC in terms of number of graduates taking the licensure examination, and for the past eight years or so, nursing also captured the limelight on issues such as oversubscription, unemployment and over-employment.
Manalili explained that the national government, mindful of these challenges, provided initiatives to address the so called over-supply of nurses like the NARS (Nurses Assigned to Rural Service) and the RN HEALS (Registered Nurses for Health Enhancement and Local Service) programs. It is also engaging in the continuing talk with the Business Process Outsourcing(BPO) industry in the hope and desire to find alternative jobs for nurses specifically medical transcription, health and medical services.
She also said that the commission’s data from the licensure examination in the last five to ten years as well as its projection in the next five to ten years, have provided valuable information not only on the present oversupply of nurses but more importantly on finding a solution.
Manalili also disclosed that PRC is trying to open up Japan’s market to Filipino nurses and other professional workers through a technical cooperation project between the Philippines in Japan or under Japan-Philippines Economic Development Agreement (JPEPA).
In addition, Manalili also informed that the PRC’s Board of Nursing is also pushing for the adoption of a competency based national nursing career profession program which is a more directed and rational training for Filipino nurses towards general nursing practice since trending demand for nurses now is competency-based.
On the part of CHED, Santiago said that the Commission has came out with a moratorium on the nursing program. CHED is pushing for the improvement of the policies, standards and guidelines that govern the nursing education and profession and for its strict implementation on higher educational institutions (HEIs) that are offering nursing programme.
Santiago also bared that CHED , in partnership with the PRC, Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) and other partner stakeholders are closely monitoring the performances of HEIs with nursing programme and that they are ready to close down or give sanctions to any institution that does not adhere to the policies, standards and guidelines of quality nursing education.
“We are trying to do this to protect the general welfare of the public – the parents, students, and the other who are helping provide education for our nurses. The commission and other stakeholders, are one with you in promoting safe and quality nursing care in clinical practice,” Santiago said.
The said Regional Student Nurses’ Congress, now on its 7th staging, was initiated by the Association of Deans of Philippine Colleges of Nursing Cordillera Chapter and the Cordillera Association of Nursing Deans.
Category: Education
