Joe Avancena, Saudi Gazette, August 25, 2011 Al-Khobar - Expatriate nurses working in the Kingdom’s private hospitals and other health institutions want their compensation upgraded to the level of the wages of nurses employed in the government health sector, according to the results of a survey conducted recently by the newly organized Philippine Nurses Association-Eastern Province Saudi Arabia chapter. Those who responded to the survey felt that there was a need to standardize the salaries and compensation of all expatriate nurses working in Saudi Arabia, irrespective of their nationality. ... Expatriate

Cebu Daily News, August 22, 2011 In the United States, four Filipino-American nurses won their discrimination case against a Maryland-based hospital that fired them for speaking in Tagalog. On the home front, a total of 37,513 nursing graduates passed the board examinations and earned their professional licenses. According to a Philippine Daily Inquirer report, the United States Equal Opportunity Employment Commission ruled on August 16  in favor of nurses Jazziel Granada, Corina Yap, Ana Rosales and Hachelle Natano against the Bon Secours Health System. The commission said the nurses were subjected to ... A

Leah Primativa G. Samaco-Paquiz, Unit 208, 385 GJ Building, Quezon Avenue, Quezon City, Inquirer, July 23, 2011 We, in Ang Nars, strongly urge President Aquino, as he is about to give his second State of the Nation Address, to finally put a stop to the exploitative practices victimizing our nurses. Over 400,000 of our country’s registered nurses are exploited by many health care institutions. In the name of volunteerism and/or in the guise of training them (through non-accredited training programs), they are made to work with the full responsibilities of an employed staff nurse, without any form of compensation, benefits and employer protection. ... War

Jesse Edep, GMA News, July 20, 2011 A lawmaker is pushing for a special local jobs plan for the growing number of unemployed Filipino nurses, estimated by the Department of Health at more than 200,000. In House Bill 4582, LPG Marketers Association Representative Arnel Ty proposed the creation of a jobs plan would be expanded version of the Nurses Assigned in Rural Service (NARS). Ty noted that only about 3,000 Filipino nurses sought employment in the United States in the first semester of 2011, down by nearly half of the number recorded in the same period in 2010. In the first semester of 2010, a total of 5,553 Filipino nurses attempted to enter ... PHL

Manila Bulletin, May 11, 2011 Manila – Bahrain is hopeful to fill up its urgent need for nurses with Filipino medical professionals - this is the good news that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced recently. Meanwhile, Bahraini Social Development Minister and Acting Health Minister Dr. Fatima Al Balooshi will communicate with the Embassy the Kingdom's health manpower requirements as soon as possible. The Bahraini government expressed that Filipino medical professionals are highly regarded in Bahrain because of their professional competence. ... Filipino

Philip Tubeza, Philippine Daily Inquirer, October 17, 2010 Manila - The number of Filipino nurses seeking jobs in the United States continues to decline, dropping by 38 percent in the third quarter, a prominent labor leader said Saturday. Former Senator Ernesto Herrera, secretary general of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), said only 2,227 Filipino nurses took the US National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for the first time from July to September. This is 1,355 fewer (or 38 percent lower) than the 3,582 nurses who took the exam during the same period in 2009, Herrera said. ... Number

ABS-CBN, October 16, 2010 Manila – Fewer Filipinos took the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for the 3rd quarter of this year. Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) secretary general and former Senator Ernesto Herrera revealed that only 2,227 Filipino nurses took the NCLEX for the first time from July to September. The figure is down by 38% or 1,355 lower compared to the 3,582 number of examinees in the same 3-month period in 2009. ... Pinoy

Gerard Naval, Malaya, October 14, 2010 The president of the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) expressed surprise and disappointment by the decision of the Maguindanao prosecutor’s office on Wednesday to drop the charges against six suspects in the gang-rape last Sept. 25 of a volunteer nurse in South Upi, Maguindanao. "Kung wala na yung anim, sino na ngayon (ang haharap)?" PNA president Teresita Barcelo said in a phone interview. "Na-surprise ako dahil lahat sila pinalabas. I would like to clarify kung ano ang grounds for the release of all the six kasi meron kaming information na one or two of them ay nakita sa site," Barcelo said. ... Nurses

Archad Ayao & Jasper Acosta, ABS-CBN News, September 28, 2010 Cotabato City – Hundreds of nurses have staged a protest in Cotabato City to seek justice for their colleague who was reportedly gang-raped on Saturday. Workers from the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) Maguindanao, Notre Dame University students, and nurses from various government hospitals gathered at the city plaza to air their call. Six people have been tagged by police in the rape of the 21-year-old victim, who works at the South Upi Maguindanao Municipal Health Office. Police identified 5 of the suspects. ... Nurses

Jerrie M. Abella, GMA News, August 1, 2010 The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has said job opportunities for Filipino nurses in Switzerland, Denmark and other European countries remain to be "minimal." The POEA issued the clarification that only a few nursing jobs are available in the region, following announcement from some groups that jobs for health professionals abound in Europe. “Most countries in the European Union (EU) prioritize its citizens over foreigners looking for work in their respective countries," POEA administrator Jennifer Manalili said in a statement posted on the agency’s website last week. ... Very

Caroline J. Howard, ABS CBN News, July 9, 2010 Manila - An estimated 187,000 Filipino nurses are unemployed. The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) says these nurses are competing for some 70,000 nursing positions in private and public hospitals. But as if that were not enough, the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) admits the problem of unemployment in the nursing profession may just have gotten bigger. "Another 92,000 nursing students took the board exams last Saturday. By statistics, 50% or less would pass, so you could expect [at least] 35,000 to be added to the swelling number of unemployed," says PNA President Dr. Tita Barcelo. ... The

Apples Jalandoni, ABS-CBN News, July 4, 2010 Manila – Richard Palikpik was one of the 92,000 nursing graduates who took the licensure examinations on Saturday. Palikpik said he spent the last 3 months reviewing for the exam. “Ayaw namin bumaba pa ang aming rating para hindi rin bumaba ang tingin ng ibang bansa sa amin,” he said. But according to an official of the Review Center Association of the Philippines (RECAP), failing in the exams should be the least of the nursing graduates’ concerns. ... Number

Paul John A. Vesagas, Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro, July 4, 2010 The Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) in Northern Mindanao is expecting 2,947 registered examinees to take the bi-yearly Nurses Licensure Examination (NLE) in Cagayan de Oro, which started Saturday and ends today, Sunday. The PRC said these registered examinees are nursing graduates from the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Malaybalay and the neighboring areas of Butuan City and Surigao City. Cagayan de Oro City is among the seven testing sites all over the country for the NLE. Other testing sites include Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, Baguio, Davao and Zamboanga. Nationwide, over 80,000 nursing graduates are set to take the NLE. ... 2,947

Inquirer.net, April 1, 2010 Manila - National Nurses United (NNU), a 150,000-strong organization of registered nurses based in the United States, asked the Philippine government to release the 43 health workers who were arrested in Morong, Rizal. NNU, through its co-presidents Deborah Burger, Karen Higgins and Jean Ross, also wrote US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, making the same call and stressing that the arrest and continuing detention of the so-called Morong 43 are illegal and constitute human rights violations. In a news release, the health organization also posed their deep concerns on how dedicated health workers are being treated ... US

ABS-CBN News, October 22, 2009 Manila - Joblessness in the US could be a reason why the number of Filipino nurses taking the United States national licensure examinations decreased, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said on Thursday. "The confidence of foreign workers in America’s economic supremacy has clearly been shaken by the staggering job losses there," TUCP secretary general Ernesto Herrera said in a press statement. Herrera said Filipino nurses’ desire to seek employment in the US by taking the National Council Licensure Exams (NCLEX) dropped by 21.38% in nine months to September this year. ... Fewer