Seek jobs in Middle East, not US, Pinoy nurses urged

MANILA, Philippines - A House of Representatives leader has called on Filipino nurses and health workers to seek jobs in Middle Eastern countries instead of the United States as it is still reeling from the economic meltdown.

House Assistant Majority Leader and Cebu Rep. Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. cited that there is no significant increase in the number of Filipino nurses who took the US National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) from January to June this year.

This year, only 1,951 Filipino nurses took the NCLEX, a little higher from the 1,944 during the first six months in 2013, Gullas said.

"We do not expect the number of Filipino nurses seeking to practice their profession in America to increase any time soon. The healthcare labor market there remains somewhat bleak,” Gullas said.

"We remain positive that the situation will eventually improve as the US economy starts to recover. But right now, a number of US hospitals and nursing homes are still laying off workers,” he added.

Gullas said that based on the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics report, US hospitals shed off 7,000 jobs, while nursing care facilities get rid off of another 6,000 in July alone.

The 2007-2008 global financial crisis sent the US economy into deep a economic slowdown that forced many hospitals and nursing homes, especially those wholly or partly funded by federal and state agencies, to lay off workers and cease hiring new nurses.

The number of Filipino nurses taking the NCLEX for the first time is considered a reliable indicator as to how many of them are trying to enter the profession in America.

Gullas said 420 Indians, 300 Canadians, 266 Puerto Ricans and 234 South Koreans also took the NCLEX for the first time in the first semester of 2014.

In 2013, a total of 4,034 Filipinos took the NCLEX for the first time, representing less than one-fifth of the record-high 21,499 that took the same examination at the height of the 2007 nursing boom.

The Philippines continues to produce thousands of new nurses every year, despite a large surplus.