Demand for nurses to bring 10% growth to remittances

Remittances from overseas Filipino workers are expected to grow by another 10 percent this year due to the increasing demand for health care professionals mainly nurses abroad, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said. Last year, OFW remittances increased by 26.2 percent valued at US $10.85 billion, based on BSP record. Aside from the rising number of OFWs deployed to other countries, the quality and income of workers deployed also improved, the BSP added.

Every year, there are 3,000 doctors taking up nursing, which is double the figure of newly licensed practicing doctors, according to Dr. Marilou Viray, president of the Cebu Medical Society.

Viray said two of the major reasons why everyone, even doctors, is taking up nursing today, are the opportunities call for it and because of the sound financial security it offers.

Further, she said that OFWs have been a "saving grace" to the country's economy with the massive inflow of dollars remitted regularly.

Apart from dollar remittances, OFWs particularly the health care providers can also apply and share the technology they learned in other countries as she has known of some medical professionals who came back after many years of working abroad to spend retirement here. - Gregg M. Rubio