Hospital in the US Confirmed Nursing Shortage Due to Aging Population
Just got off some local online newspaper in the States where a hospital confirmed that the United States will be needing more nurses due to its aging population in the very near term. The baby boomers are aging and they need adequate medical and nursing care as part of the country’s healthcare program. This is a good opportunity for Filipino nurses to fill in the need in the US despite the the not so good updates on the US Visa Retrogression.
According to the report, there are plenty of American college students who wish to earn a nursing degree but lack of nursing faculty is the fueling the nursing shortage further. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), reported that U.S. nursing schools turned away more than 40,000 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2007 due to lack of faculty, clinical sites, classrooms, clinical teachers and budget constraints.
The AACN expects in its report that by 2025, the shortage could reach 500,000 as we earlier reported in this site. Some 30,000 additional nurses should be graduated every year in order to meet this shortage.
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JPEPA – Good for Philippine Economy But Disadvantageous To Filipino Nurses?
Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement or JPEPA has been ratified by the Senate last week in spite of the many opposition and disgusto about it since it started in the lower house plenary. JPEPA boasts to help the ailing economic relationship with Japan heal its wounds.
Senators approving the treaty believed JPEPA needs to be ratified, otherwise, Japanese foreign direct investment and earnings from Philippine exports to Japan may go to other Southeast Asian countries where Japan has economic partnership agreements.
But why is there a lot of opposition to this so-called economic treaty?
Concerned groups and oppositors have expressed their concerns on the treaty even before this came to the Senate for debate. The contention is that it is unconstitutional since it violates the protectionist provisions in the Constitution. And the group that will be affected are Filipino nurses who wants to work in Japan.
The detractors believed that this same treaty will also become a “template” for other developed countries to exploit our OFWs particularly Pinoy nurses in exchange for economic and trade exchanges. And you know that we reported earlier that even the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) supports the call to junk the JPEPA during the legislative deliberation.
The impact is debilitating for most of our ordinary countrymen seeking healthcare-related jobs in Japan. For nurses, they will first work and get paid as trainees while preparing for the nursing licensure exam in the Japanese language. If they fail to pass the exam within a three-year period, they will have to return to the Philippines.
The treaty compromises Filipino nurses’ labor standards, job security, migrant and labor rights, benefits and wages, and other protection for healthcare workers and caregivers. Many believe that the trade agreement’s provision on labor services would compromise Filipino health workers and put them in a very vulnerable position.
16 Philippine senators voted in favor of the Treaty which is described to be as “onerous trade agreement.” Only four senators voted against the JPEPA.
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US Estimates 500,000 Nurses needed between 2016 to 2025 on top of local US nurses
It has been reported that US Labor Department gave estimates that they will be needing 500,000 more foreign nurses between 2016 until 2025 as there will be millions of elderly American citizens within this period that needs specialized care.
This is on top of the current training for their local nurses which is expected be not enough to attend to the needs of the growing aging population.
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Australia needs 200,000 Filipino Nurses in the near term
Philippine Information Agency revealed that Australia needs 200,000 Filipino nurses to fill in the requirements in various hospitals and healthcare institution.
The Philippine government is now working seriously to market the current oversupply of nurses in the country.
Good news to all our Pinoy nurses.
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