ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR III
Without a doubt, the country had reached its critical point in the scarcity of Nurses in our local hospitals. The apparent exodus of our competitive and steady-hand Nurses is also alarming, so much so that the government had put a cap on the number of nurses employed or deployed abroad.
According to Ramon Tulfo, undeniably one of the more famous columnists in our national Broadsheets, the number is pegged at 7,500 per year.
But why does a nurse decides to leave her home, her loved ones, her family, and her work? Because of two vital and important constructs Compensation Care and Respect.
Rowalt Alibudbud published at the National Library of Medicine a research paper entitled When the “heroes” “don’t feel cared for”: The migration and resignation of Philippine nurses amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. And he wrote ;
Given the chronic understaffing, low wages, unsafe working conditions, and deployment bans, Filipino nurses have expressed their exhaustion and dismay with statements such as “We don’t feel cared for” and “We feel exhausted…but we always keep in mind that we have to help our people because…no one else will” [3,4]. Eventually, some of them may leave the profession or try to go abroad since “it’s really not worth being a nurse at home” [4]. This seemed to be the sentiment of nurses and other health care worker groups who have announced their mass resignation from the Philippine health care system amidst the COVID-19 pandemic [8]. While some were able to migrate, remaining nurses in the Philippines, as seen in private hospitals [4], may leave their profession to escape their seeming domestic captivity and socio-economic hardships amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, Filipino nurses may be free when they no longer work as “nurses”.
The excerpt actually sheds light on the question of Exodus . and it shows a resentful take of the realities beseeching the professionals .
The website indeed.com had pegged the average monthly compensation of Registered Nurses in the Philippines is at Php. 30,061.00 per ,month . This could be challenged by people but my point is , with the exposure to pathogens and the stress ( Physical, Mental and Emotional) they deal with to me this is low.
The website has listings on the compensation of Nurses in National Capital Region , Alabang has its at Php. 37,673.00 the Highest in terms of Base Pay and Quezon City at Php. 26,101 per month at the lowest.
In the United Kingdom the Nurses Salary is at 34,000 pounds or roughly at this day monetary tables it is Php. 2,293,000.00 a far cry to the Less than Php. 400,000 annual income of the Nurses in Alabang . This is more than 5 times over in comparison. Beyond the issue of wages , Nurses also leave because of the apparent low regard of the professions by Private Hospital Owners and the Government’s lack of strong empathy.
To this writer, Nurse is an exact synonym with the word love. Take away the Nurses who gently and expertly man the hospitals, it will never be the same.
This far, we have seen how it doesn’t work, how dreadful the conditions are and how self-eroding for the nurse the realities on the ground.
Thus, their plight must be known.
