Gov’t urged to draft nursing graduates to plug staffing gaps
A LEGISLATOR with the House majority declared her support for a proposal to draft trained nurses who have not yet been licensed into the effort to contain the pandemic.
In a statement Thursday, Bagong Henerasyon Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy said: “I’m sure there are a lot of them who are willing to help and are just waiting to be tapped to fight against COVID-19.”
On Wednesday, Speaker Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco said the government agencies regulating the profession should look into tapping graduates of nursing courses who are not yet registered nurses, asking the Department of Health and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to help address the manpower shortage in healthcare.
Unregistered nurses should be allowed work in health facilities as long as the PRC arranges for their supervision under a registered doctor or nurse. Mr. Velasco added.
Ms. Herrera-Dy said a number of hospitals reportedly cannot accommodate the volume of patients due to worker shortages.
“We need all the help we can get to ensure that we will emerge victorious in our battle against the coronavirus,” she said.
The PRC on Wednesday announced that the May 2021 nursing licensure exams will be pushed back to July. — Gillian M. Cortez
