PBBM is receptive to a proposed PH-US agreement to enhance the nursing sector

DSG | PBBM is receptive to a proposed PH-US agreement to enhance the nursing sector | MANILA -Malacaang said Wednesday that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. wants a review of a possible relationship between the Philippines and the US to help both countries’ nursing industries.

Communication Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement that Marcos is open to the idea of making a deal with the US to improve the nursing field and fix the problems that are plaguing it.

“Let’s find out… “That probably sounds like a good idea once we figure out the details,” Marcos was quoted as saying by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

This happened after US Senator Tammy Duckworth brought up the idea of sending American students to nursing schools in the Philippines when she paid Marcos a formal visit at Malacaan Palace in Manila on Tuesday.

Marcos said that he wants to think about the plan before making a choice.

“It is a problem that our nurses are moving and going abroad to find better jobs. And we think that’s a great idea. “We’re not going to stop them,” Marcos told Duckworth during their talk.

“But we need to come up with these new plans so that the brain drain isn’t as bad as it is right now. I think we have a shortage at every level of our health care system, and a big part of that is because good people are leaving the Philippines for better jobs. But, yes, we should look into that.”

Even though there isn’t yet an official agreement, Marcos and Duckworth both agreed that the idea would be good for both countries.

Duckworth said that Filipino nurses could pass the tests to become nurses in the United States.

She also said that the US doesn’t have enough nursing programmes and that there are more nursing students than nursing teachers in the country.

“You know, it would be really interesting to see if we could send American students to nursing schools in the Philippines because, obviously, you teach to a level that they can meet to get a licence in the US. “But the United States doesn’t have enough nursing programmes,” Duckworth said.

“We don’t have enough nursing teachers in the U.S. because we don’t have enough of them, and there aren’t enough spots for students who want to go to nursing school.”(via PNA)