THE Department of Health (DOH) has set out to track licensed nurses who are not practicing their profession, and convince them to work in government hospitals.
In a statement, the DOH said it agrees with Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte on the need to exert more effort to identify the professional nurses who are not working in the health sector.
Villafuerte has said about 124,000 licensed and registered Filipino nurses are jobless, underemployed, or are doing non-related work.
“Towards this goal, the DOH will work with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to determine the number of nurses, who passed the board, and will work with Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to trace nurses, who are not engaged and employed in the health sector,” said the DOH.
The DOH said it will also work to identify vacant positions in government health facilities.
“The identified vacancies for nurses shall be mapped out in all regions. This will give due advantage to them that they are geographically closer to their residences as well,” said the DOH.
The health department said it will also spearhead the conduct of job fairs, not just in the central office in Manila but in all centers for health development (CHDs).
“(This is) to ensure that those who can apply shall be able to submit,” said the DOH.
The DOH said it will also closely work with advocates in Congress for possible legislative measures on increase in the salary for nurses and other benefits for healthcare workers. — Gerard Naval
