Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte has urged his congressional colleagues to help address the imminent shortage of nurses by passing in the remaining session weeks of the Legislature a bill that would encourage these healthcare workers to stay in the Philippines through reforms in nursing education.
“The bill should be acted upon with urgency amid reports of an impending shortage of nurses across the globe made worse for us in the Philippines by the exodus of our underpaid, overworked nurses,” Villafuerte said.
According to the Geneva-based International Council of Nurses, there is a looming shortage of nurses worldwide, with many of them burned out from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Villafuerte had authored HB 7281, which seeks reforms in nursing education, including the introduction of basic and postgraduate programs that would train and encourage nurses to work in communities and seek leadership or management positions in their profession in local hospitals instead of leaving for overseas jobs.
Under this proposed “Advanced Nursing Education Act of 2020,” Villafuerte cited the need to improve the country’s nursing education by giving room for advanced programs.
“Advanced nursing education programs have the capacity to further catapult our nurses to realize greater opportunities through the opening up of leadership roles. By doing so, we can elevate our status further to be recognized as a producer of leaders, experts, and authorities in the field of nursing,” he said in his bill’s explanatory note.
HB 7281 calls for the inclusion of community integration and immersion in the basic program for nursing education “to encourage more graduates to work in a community setting.”
Under the measure, the admission to the basic program for nursing education shall require passing a National Nursing Admission Test (NNAT).
Villafuerte backed President Duterte’s release of P1.185 billion for the special risk allowance (SRA) of medical frontliners as a measure to recognize the sacrifices made by them in the fight against the lingering pandemic, and urged lawmakers to do their part by writing a law that would institutionalize such benefits.
“The curriculum and the related learning experiences must be in accordance with the national nursing core competency standards to be promulgated by the Board of Nursing and implemented through the policies, standards, and guidelines by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED),” Villafuerte said.
HB 7281 provides that there shall be a graduate program for nursing education that shall be post baccalaureate nursing program, which builds on the experiences, and skills of a nurse towards mastery, expertise, and leadership in practice, research and education.
According to the Geneva-based International Council of Nurses, there is a looming shortage of nurses worldwide, with many of them burned out from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rates of “intention to leave” within a year have doubled to 20%-30%, the group said.
Earlier, Villafuerte backed President Duterte’s release of P1.185 billion for the special risk allowance (SRA) of medical frontliners as a measure to recognize the sacrifices made by them in the fight against the lingering pandemic, and urged lawmakers to do their part by writing a law that would institutionalize such benefits.
Villafuerte was referring to a consolidated bill in the House of Representatives approved by the House on second reading, and of which he is one of the principal authors, that aims to provide such extra pay to healthcare workers.
