INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa on Friday said he would consider shelving his plan of allowing unlicensed nursing graduates to work in public hospitals should it fail to hurdle the 鈥渓egal roadblocks.鈥�
At a press briefing, Herbosa pointed out that he would welcome other possible solutions to the understaffing of nurses in public hospitals, among them hiring board-eligible graduates as 鈥渘ursing trainees鈥� who would be put in a 鈥渢raining program.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to do anything illegal 鈥� If an agency tells me it鈥檚 illegal, then it鈥檚 illegal鈥� I can鈥檛 force the issue. But they (other agencies) are with me to find solutions,鈥� he told reporters.
Section 21 of the Philippine Nursing Act allows the grant of a special or temporary permit for a limited period only to foreign nurses invited to the country for a program or medical mission.
This has been raised by the Philippine Board of Nursing, said Herbosa, and so he has proposed to some lawmakers that the law be amended to make the issuance of licenses to board flunkers possible.
Nursing assistants
鈥淭hey told me, amendment is easy鈥� but they said that the president has to make it urgent,鈥� Herbosa said of his conversation with the Professional Regulation Commission. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the legal side of the problem鈥� I鈥檒l leave it to the lawyers and legislators to help solve the problem,鈥� he added.
Another option is the hiring of nursing assistants under the DOH鈥檚 human resources for health program. Under this position, Herbosa noted, unlicensed nursing graduates would be hired under Salary Grade9, equivalent to around P21,000.鈥淚t鈥檚 being offered as a solution, and that鈥檚 going to go forward. It will be open to graduates of college but [are] awaiting to pass exams,鈥� he said. INQ
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