MANILA, Philippines -- A member of the Board of Nursing on Monday belied news reports that the number of unemployed Filipino nurses was more than 400,000, and that number was more likely between 80,000 and 100,000.
Marco Antonio Sto. Tomas told INQUIRER.net that a review of statistics with the Department of Labor and Employment, showed that the 400,000-plus figure was "not logical" and probably referred to the number of registered or licensed Filipino nurses.
"From 1952 to date, the country has so far registered or licensed 480,992 Filipino nurses out of the 523,272 who actually passed the Philippine Nurse Licensure Examinations. The 400,000-plus refers to the actual cumulative stock of Filipino nurses, not unemployed nurses," he said.
"If that figure were true, then I'd be one of the unemployed nurses," he said, adding that the 480,992 figure includes the dead and the retired.
Sto. Tomas said the 80,000 to 100,000 unemployed Filipino nurses could find jobs "not just in the United States or in the United Kingdom, where there is a recession, but also in France, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand."
"There is still a big demand for Filipino nurses in the international market even with the slowdown in the West," he said.
Sto. Tomas said the problem was principally "pacing," where supply and demand didn’t match. He said most health-care facilities abroad wanted experienced nurses. As such, new graduates who want to work abroad need to gain experience in the country for a couple of years, he said.
Sto. Tomas also said that the Commission on Higher Education should regulate fly-by-night nursing schools, which not only contributed to unprepared, unqualified, and unemployable nursing graduates, but also to the high failing rate in the board exams.
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