Demand for nurses abroad declining

MANILA, Philippines – Nursing experts yesterday said it is no longer the right time to enroll in nursing courses because of the declining demand for them in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom.

According to Dr. Leah Samaco-Paquiz, president of the Philippine Nursing Association (PNA), the demand for Filipino nurses had “plateaued” in the US since 2006 because of “visa retrogression” there.

“In the US, the quota for visas has been filled up resulting in delayed processing of visas, with current efforts focused on 2006 accepted applicants,” Paquiz said in a press briefing.

The UK, on the other hand, has adopted a labor policy that gives priority to homegrown health workers.

“Many licensed nurses are now underemployed or unemployed as a result of changes of policy in destination countries, the current situation of oversupply and quality problems, among others,” she added.

But despite this situation, Dean Leonora Reyes, vice president of the Association of Deans of Philippine Colleges of Nursing, said they could not discourage people from taking up nursing.

“We cannot tell people not to enroll (in nursing) but they should choose the reputable program that can deliver quality education. They must go to reputable institutions, (the ones that are) accredited because priority is given to those coming from these schools,” Reyes said.

Dr. Marilyn Lorenzo, director of the University of the Philippines’ Institute of Health Policy and Development Studies, recalled that the demand for Filipino nurses began to rise in 1999 but slowed down in 2006.

“We actually thought that this trend would only be good for a decade and, as expected, it already started to slow down,” she claimed.

The boom in nursing is expected to be repeated after 10 years.

The demand for nurses abroad had led to the increased number of nursing schools and graduates in the Philippines.

In 1999, the number of nursing graduates was 5,672 while in 2004 and 2005, the number of graduates were 14,383 and 34,589, respectively.

Lorenzo added that one proof of the declining demand for Filipino nurses abroad was the slowing down of hiring in some of the country’s biggest hospitals.

At the Philippine General Hospital, she said, the turnover rate for employees is 0.83 percent. 

The hospital also has a nursing pool of up to 250 qualified nurses who are waiting to be hired.

The Philippine Heart Center, on the other hand, has a nursing pool of 1,500 with a “turnover” rate of 10 percent in 2006, while the St. Luke’s Medical Center has a nursing pool of 300 nurses who have already completed a three-month pre-hire training.

“The evidence is there. There has already been a decreased demand for nurses,” Lorenzo said.

She said the country must take advantage of the 10-year gap to “address the surplus situation” by finding jobs for those unemployed or underemployed and by improving the quality of nursing education.