(File photo)
MANILA – A senator expressed on Wednesday his support to the proposal of the Department of Health (DOH) to utilize nursing graduates who fell just short of passing the Philippine Nursing Licensure Examination (NLE) as an additional workforce in the healthcare system.
While they may not have technically passed the exam, Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go believes that providing nursing graduates with temporary licenses will augment the healthcare workforce and create job opportunities for them.
“Sang-ayon naman ako sa rekomendasyon na mabigyan ng temporary license ang iilang mga nursing graduates kahit hindi sila technically nakapasa pa ng board exams. Makakadagdag ito sa ating healthcare workforce, mabibigyan sila ng trabaho, at mas rarami ang pwedeng rumesponde sa pangangailangang pangkalusugan ng mga Pilipino (I agree with the recommendation to give temporary licenses for some nursing graduates who did not technically passed the board exams. This will add to our healthcare workforce, they will have a job, and we can address the healthcare needs of the Filipinos),” Go said in a statement.
Go, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, stressed the importance of careful consideration of the proposal as the lives of patients are at stake.
“Pero dapat pag-aralan ito ng mabuti dahil buhay rin ang nakasalalay dito. Para sa akin, ang mga tungkulin na ibibigay sa kanila ay angkop lang dapat sa kanilang kakayahan at kaalaman, at hindi pantay sa mga tunay na licensed nurses (But this needs to be studied carefully because lives are at stake. For me, the tasks to be assigned to them should be commensurate to their capabilities and knowledge and should not at par with licensed nurses),” he said.
The existing laws and regulations, Go said, should also be taken into account by the DOH to uphold professional standards.
DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa has proposed that nursing graduates who got a rating of 70 percent to 74 percent in the NLE should be employed as a supplementary workforce in the healthcare system.
Herbosa mentioned that Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma has endorsed the proposal and intends to hold discussions with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) regarding the issuance of temporary licenses for these nurses.
Last year, the PRC announced that a total of 18,529 passed out of 24,903 who took the NLE or 74.40 percent.
From 2017 to 2022, an estimated 54.84 percent of the examinees passed the NLE which is alarming according to House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Paul Daza urging the PRC and the Commission on Higher Education to review the country's nursing curriculum. (PNA)
