Some Senators have expressed their opposition against the proposal to employ unlicensed nurses in government hospitals in order to solve the shortage of health care personnel.
Flunked nursing graduates with scores of 70–74 percent, according to Department of Health(DOH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, will be allowed to work in public hospitals with temporary licenses endorsed by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma.
But Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III said Herbosa should reinstate the current system and work on improving the teaching and examination systems to ensure nursing graduates are prepared.
Pimentel advised that the present passing grade of 75% must be maintained and that exam must contain questions that will ehance the nursing examinee's competence and preparation by focusing on the critical knowledge and skill set.
The Senator said that if the examinee is ready and competent, the nursing graduate will pass. But if they fail, he said that it is apparent that they are not yet ready to be nurses, elaborating on the protection of the integrity of the country’s testing system.
Meanwhile, Senator Nancy Binay said that the large shortage of nurses in public hospitals may have prompted the DOH to tap fresh-grad nurses who just finished taking the exam.
But Binay noted that a thorough research must be conducted first before the DOH uses unlicensed or board-eligible nurses as a temporary solution to the problem.
She said she wanted to see the DOH develop a clear and concrete program in hospitals to alleviate the condition of health care workers, stating that "the most practical thing to do is prioritize hiring unemployed nurses and provide a certain level of care, respect, and compassion to our overworked nurses currently serving our public hospitals."
