Sa kadaghan sa nursing students ug schools ug sa kagamay sa number sa training hospitals, dili

jud ni sila ma train enough. They need more exposure to hone themselves and this is where
volunteerism becomes a perfect venue, he said.
Dr. Patricia Gaid, consultant of the pediatrics department of NMMC, expresses her support to the
point-of-view of Dr. Chan.
You cannot leave a new nurse to assume work alone. The four years of college education nurses
receive will only make them good theoretically but not clinically, she says.
In 2009, the Commission on Higher Education released CMO 14, which enumerates the
competencies expected of a BSN graduate.
Simply put, once an individual graduates BSN, he/she is expected to have the beginning skills or
competencies to assume the role of a nurse.
Under RA 9173 or the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002, nursing graduates wishing to practice
nursing needs to pass a licensure exam. After successfully hurdling the exams, they are entitled
to all the rights and privileges due in the practice of their profession to include salary.
Republic Act 9173 does not say anything about volunteerism as a stepping stone or condition to
employment.
Dr. Chan also denies the claims that there is no structure in training program for nurses offered
by NMMC and they do not collect any fees compared to other hospitals in Visayas and Luzon
areas that charge P500 to P3,500 per nurse volunteer.
The concept of volunteerism in nursing practice has caught the attention of everybody concerned
especially by the academic community.
On the other hand, Dr. Ramona Heidi Palad, dean of Xavier Universitys College of Nursing,
expresses her non-support for volunteerism.
Volunteerism should be discouraged and not allowed to prosper. I am not for it! she says.
Dr. Palad further believes that volunteerism is a form of exploitation.
But the question is why do nurses succumb to volunteerism?
The answers may be the following: (1) There is an oversupply of nurses; (2) There are not
enough hospitals to practice in the Philippines; (3) Lack of employment opportunities.
So where do thousands of nurses go to earn the two-year clinical experience required for them to
work overseas?
Meanwhile, in Dr. Chans words, he referred to this as, Starvation in the midst of plenty to
pertain to the imbalance equation of demand and supply for nurses in the workforce.
As much as we need more nurses to man our stations, we can only employ a little due to budget
issues by the national government, Dr. Chan says.