The Philippines is widely known as a major supplier of nurses to many countries, with a large number working in the United States. If one were to look through hospitals around the world, it is almost certain that a Filipino nurse would be found among the staff. Because of this, it poses the question of why local hospitals in the Philippines continue to face shortages of nursing personnel.
Within the next four years, nurse vacancies in the Philippines are expected to rise up to 200,000. This contrasts with the estimated 300,000 overseas Filipino workers currently employed as nurses abroad. This highlights the significant gap between the country’s healthcare needs and the number of professionals choosing to work outside the Philippines.
One of the primary reasons for the shortage of nurses in the country is the obvious gap in salaries between the Philippines and other countries. Last year, an entry-level nurse only earned around a monthly of PHP 12,000 to PHP 18,000 in a private hospital—about 4% of what one could earn in the United States. Although public hospital nurses receive more income, they are still considered among the lowest-paid government employees in the country, and their work often comes with an exchange: inadequate facilities and a toxic working environment.
Nurses from public hospitals often experience burnout due to chronic understaffing, after a huge percentage quit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the Department of Health issued a ratio mandate of 1 is to 12, actual hospital scenes show a double up to triple in patient size, depending on the shifts. This poses a threat to the quality of care the patients receive, and the work life the nurses should have.
Severe understaffing is also caused by budget cuts that hinder vacant slots. Researchers from the Ateneo de Manila University expounded on how only no more than 45% of a local government unit’s annual budget is allocated for the salaries of their healthcare workers. Combined with a lack of staff, this “forces overworked nurses to take on multiple roles, often without additional pay”. This perpetuates job insecurity, as their work conditions do not match the treatment they are getting.
Budget cuts often lead to a lack of equipment and disintegrating facilities that are no longer foreign to local public hospitals.
Sharing of beds, long waiting time, and sterilizing disposable materials do not only affect patients, but also take a toll on healthcare workers, such as nurses. The underfinancing of such sector fosters a mindset of de-motivation and reduces their ambition to something out-of-reach.
Continuing to label these nurses as “modern-day heroes” without giving them the same treatment and benefits diminishes the passion they put into their work. Reducing their work as “trabaho mo naman ‘yan” denies proper recognition and enforces another unhealthy mentality of resiliency on a workforce that would not exist because of them.
The Philippines does not lack nurses. They are continuously driven away by a system that fails to value their compassion, and rewards them with low salaries, unhealthy working conditions, and empty promises. As long as this continues, the cycle of graduating a bachelor’s degree in the country, with the dreams of working in another will continue.
Written by Mihaela A. Amistoso, Insight PH
Mihaela A. Amistoso, Insight PH is a dedicated campus journalist and contributor. Their insightful writing sparks meaningful conversations and keeps the community informed.
