Ni NOEL ABUEL
“Yearly, we lose hundreds of nurses who seek greener pastures elsewhere. This mass exodus of health workers greatly affects our health system causing it to collapse. No one was addressing this, and so we crafted this measure.”
Ito ang pahayag ni ANAKALUSUGAN party-list Rep. Ray Florence Reyes kung kaya’t naghain ito ng panukalang batas na naglalayong magtatag ng scholarship at return service program upang masolusyunan ang kakulangan ng nurses sa bansa.
Sa House Bill No. 6631 o ang “Nursing Scholarship and Return Service Program Act” layon nitong magkaloob ng aims “pay it forward” scholarship sa mga deserving na mag-aaral sa mga state universities and colleges o private higher education institutions sa mga rehiyon na kumukuha ng bachelor’s degree sa nursing upang mabawasan ang bilang ng local nurses sa hospital bed ratio.
“We want to provide a scholarship scheme to those who wish to take up nursing in college and pursue it as a profession, then create a return service program to pay the scholarship forward through public service. In a bigger picture, this will develop our healthcare human resource to meet the needs of our citizens and ensure adequacy in registered nurses in the country,” ani Reyes.
Aniya ang scholarship grant ay hindi limitado sa mga freshman students, kundi pati na rin sa mga kasalukuyang nursing students na gustong mag-avail ng programa.
Ang programa ay magbibigay ng libreng tuition at school fees, allowance para sa mga libro at mga kinakailangang supply at kagamitan, tulong pinansyal sa panahon ng internship, pati na rin ng medical insurance sa mga interesadong aplikante.
Bilang kapalit, kapag natapos na ng mag-aaral ang nursing degree, kinakailangan nilang kumuha ng board examination sa loob ng maximum na panahon ng isang taon, kung saan ang gastos ay sasakupin.
Gayundin ang mag-aaral na pagkatapos maglingkod ng isa at kalahating taon para sa bawat akademikong taon ng scholarship na makukuha, sa kanyang probinsiya o munisipyo na ospital o provider na itinakda ng Local Government Unit (LGU) at kinumpirma ng Department of Health (DOH).
“It is the State’s policy to protect and promote the right to health of people. To achieve this, the government must ensure that there is an adequate amount of health care workers at any given moment, in any municipality or community in the country. Additionally, the health and welfare of these health care workers must also be a priority,” ani Reyes.
Sa ilalim ng panukalang batas, itatalaga ng DOH ang bilang ng mga nurses sa bawat munisipalidad o lalawigan at pagkatapos ay ibigay ang tamang integrasyon ng scholar sa public health at medical service system na kinabibilangan ng pagbibigay ng kinakailangang bilang ng plantilla positions para ma-accommodate ang mga bagong nurse.
Sa parehong paraan, ang departamento ng kalusugan ay gagawa ng isang landas sa karera upang mapahusay ang mga kakayahan at kasanayan ng iskolar.
“We want to make sure that each municipality or province have scholars that will provide service to their own towns, making sure that we have enough nurses evenly placed in all parts of the country. While our nurse-to-patient ratio is continually growing, mass exodus of our nurses continues. I hope that through this bill we can strike two birds with one stone by giving our aspiring nurses a chance at education and growth paired with regularized and secured positions during their service,” sabi nito.
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