A SHORTAGE in nurses and other healthcare workers in the country is caused not just by migration abroad, the Philippine Federation of Professional Associations (PFPA) said yesterday.
There is also a problem in the actual supply of nurses because of the introduction of the K to 12 program in the Philippines, PFPA vice president Dr Benito Atienza said in a briefing.
“One more reason (for the shortage) is because we have the K to 12 program so the students are graduating only now. It resulted in backlogs,” he said.
He also expressed belief young people are not that interested in becoming nurses.
“There is a need to encourage more high school students to become nurses so that there will be enough supply to the demand,” he said.
He said educational institutions are also facing problems in professors for nursing students.
“One more factor that needs a solution is the shortage in nursing teachers and professors.
Many of them are also headed abroad,” said Atienza.
Because of the shortage in professors, he said, educational institutions are having difficulty accepting nursing students.
“They cannot accept students because they don’t have enough professors. They wouldn’t want to compromise their quality of education,” he said.
Earlier, the Department of Health said the country is in need of 106,000 nurses in private and public healthcare institutions.
The DOH said the shortage in healthcare workers can be attributed to the continued migration of medical professionals, and this is the reason it opposes moves to raise deployment cap of 7,000 healthcare workers a year.
Atienza said the problem requires the attention of all stakeholders in order to be resolved.
