MANILA, PHILIPPINES- The Marcos administration has made tremendous achievements in resolving the shortage of nurses in the country, Malacañang stated Friday.
The government’s “quick wins” were enumerated during President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council – Healthcare Sector Group (PSAC-HSG) at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Thursday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement.
Garafil reported that public-private partnerships in healthcare, international welfare, and education sectors have effectively tackled the nursing crisis.
“These include the Clinical Care Associates (CCA) program for underboard nursing graduates, the Enhanced Master’s Nursing Program, and the bilateral labor agreements with other countries in the training and deployment of Filipino nurses,” she said.
During the meeting, PSAC-HSG Lead and Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. president and chief executive officer Paolo Borromeo reminded Marcos that the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has budgeted PHP20 million for board reviews of 1,000 CCAs this year.
As of February 20, approximately 304 CCAs have been enlisted from private and public hospitals, with recruitment continuing for the November 2024 nursing board exams.
He noted that the PSAC will also roll out the CCA curriculum for the 2025 board examinations. “That’s an instant addition to our nursing population. If we can fill the seats that Chair Popoy (CHED chairperson J. Prospero de Vera III) could get, that’s a thousand CCAs, but now, 300 pa lang (just 300).
A thousand CCAs is not a small number in a country where we graduate about 7,000 to 10,000 nurses a year,” Borromeo told Marcos, as quoted by the PCO.
“So, instantly, we have a thousand just like that. So I regarded that as a huge win and want to applaud Chair Popoy.”
The Philippines has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Philippine Society of Clinical Assistants (PSAC), CHED, Department of Health, and Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, Inc. to commence the CCA Upskilling Program, aiming to build a pool of licensed nurses to meet the shortage.
CHED-certified undergraduate nursing students will become CCAs in healthcare companies, with the Enhanced Master’s Nursing Program reducing CHED’s three-year program to one year, allowing graduates to work in the field.
Keep Reading: Marcos signs laws for 4 state universities
Leave a Reply