Filipino nurses urged to venture into Europe

With the extended retrogression of Filipino nurses in the American market due to several reasons, other new destinations are now being eyed to accommodate their growing population and one of which is the European market.

“The United Kingdom has cut down their education budget to 30% and so we should be sending our nurses there to provide for that big generated demand. For sure they will get their manpower in Asia but hopefully they get more Filipino nurses,” said Jerome B. Mansibang, the founder and Academic Director of Edgeworth Review and Educational Center.

Edgeworth Review and Educational Center is a Manila-based company that will be opening their first franchise here in Cebu this March.

Having received about 20 to 80 emails requesting they operate in Cebu, Mansibang decided to open the branch here in the area which will be accepting its first batch of reviewers this April. The three-storey facility in Urgello is still undergoing renovations and will be ready for operation this April, said Brent Ngoboc, the Edgeworth Cebu branch administrator.

But having identified the factors leading to the deteriorating medical education system of the country, Mansibang pointed out that they will only be catering to a few students in their classes to better serve them in their educational needs.

“The quality of education is deteriorating especially that there is a huge demand for nursing schools and review centers now a days. Most of them accommodate a lot of students than their facilities and personnel can handle. Where’s the quality in that set-up?” Mansibang pointed out. —Rhia de Pablo

According to a competitors and industry analysis which Edgeworth did before their operation in the area, they have found out that most review centers in Cebu accommodate so many students in one class and this reflects the low passing rate they get during nursing licensure examinations .

“How can we uplift the competency of our Filipino nurses in the global marketplace if we do not equip them with all the necessary skills they need in their profession?”  Mansibang challenged.

As he recently pointed out, clinical skills are some of the deteriorating skills of our Filipino nurses that make them less competitive with other nurses abroad especially our Asian neighbors.

In terms of English language proficiency, most of these Asian nurses according are already developing their skills so our English proficiency no longer poses as our most competitive advantage in the global scene.

China for one according to Mansibang has already multiplied five times their manpower intensifying their clinical skills and English language proficiency.

“If we want to maintain our global competitiveness, we have to develop further our nurses’ clinical skills and enrich our edge so we will still be competent in this field,” he added.

By advocating quality education, Edgeworth is optimistic to be able to establish high-valued presence in Cebu with their recent operation in the city.

“Most competent nurses in the country come from the Visayas, and we are still optimistic to be able to uplift the competency of our nurses by providing quality nursing education in this area,” stressed Mansibang.