Stop Nurse Exploitation
through FALSE Volunteerism Practices and Non-Accredited Training Programs
Our country’s Nurses constitute the LARGEST number of health professionals in all settings. Nurses work with patients 24 hours a day from the time of admission to the day of discharge from the hospital.
Over 400,000 of our country’s Registered Nurses are EXPLOITED by many healthcare institutions through FALSE Volunteerism Practices and Non-Accredited Training Programs (BON-CPE Council Accreditation), where they are made to work with the full responsibilities of an employed staff Nurse, without any form of compensation, benefits, and employer protection. Most are even required to pay while rendering Nursing Care services.
Because these Nurses have obtained the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and have passed the Nurses Licensure Examination, they are fully qualified to practice safe Nursing Care to patients, families, and communities, as per RA 9173, the Nursing Act of 2002. However, these young Professionals are charged exorbitant fees for these “so-called” trainings, and are left to submit to this blatant form of exploitation. Furthermore, they are deceived with empty promises of employment and the misinformed belief of improving their resumes though “Volunteer” or “Training” Certificates.
These practices prevent new Nurses from being hired, because all available Nurse Plantilla positions are filled up by these unpaid “Volunteers” or“Trainees”. These healthcare institutions have no need to hire anymore, as they can get Nursing services for FREE through the EXPLOITATION of our Nurses.
Lastly, as per the International Council of Nurses’ (ICN) November 2010 Asia Nursing Workforce Forum, Training and Volunteer certificates areNOT recognized abroad as work experience.
These exploitative practices have existed for more than 15 years. It was temporarily halted in 2008, through the efforts of the PNA. In January 2011, the issue broke out again in the media, but the exploitation stopped only for ONE WEEK. The effect is always short-lived, as government support in this issue is not continuous.
Today, there are many Private and Government hospitals still engaging in this EXPLOITATION. They now go by different names, masquerading as “Specialty Programs” such as Nurse Residency, Basic Skills Training, Clinical Advancement, and Post-Graduate Trainings.
The whole Philippine population is deeply concerned in this situation, as these hundreds of thousands of Exploited Nurses are our brothers and sisters, spouses, parents, and our children.
The Filipino Nurses are clamouring for jobs they are already trained to do. Give them what is due starting with a decent salary.
Uphold the respect for the dignity of Nurses
and the right of the Filipino People to quality healthcare!
Nurses take care of the health of our countrymen, but who takes care of our dear Nurses?
We, the Filipino People, implore our Government, and our “People’s President”, Benigno S. Aquino III, to put a
STOP to the exploitative practices against our Nurses’
Constitutional and God-Given Human Rights.
Source:
AngNars
