Nursing is "in" simply because there is a big demand for nurses all over the world — Middle East, Europe, USA and Canada. At present, there is an acute worldwide shortage of nurses, and Filipino nurses, because they are English literate, are at a premium. This demand, contrary to what you suspect, is probably not a temporary one.

The signs indicate that the problem of shortage of nursing personnel — in the U.S. and Canada, in particular — has just started and that it is going to get worse in the next 10-20 years. A few years ago, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said that growth in the nursing workforce has not kept pace with the population growth of the country in the last several years.

Very few young Americans choose nursing as a career, and in fact, less than 10 percent of nurses now working in the US are below 30 years old, and the average age of employed nurses is 45 years. The problem is compounded further by the fact that many nurses are opting to leave their jobs because of unsatisfactory working conditions.

If the current trend continues, the problem will continue to worsen and start to become critical by 2010 when today’s nurses begin to retire. The Canada Nurses’ Association predicts that their country will have a shortfall of between 60,000 to 115,000 registered nurses by 2010. In the US, Bureau of Labor statistics reveal that from 2001-2008, a total of 450,000 additional registered nurses are needed to fill the demand.

By 2020, the US will have 20 percent fewer nurses than it needs and the projected shortage for nurses at that time is 500,000 positions. So you see, the way things are going, the market for Filipino nurses is not going to shrink soon. In fact, it will even grow.

That practically every Filipino high school graduate wants to take up nursing is also true. Nursing schools have mushroomed in the last five years and existing ones have doubled their enrollment many times over. Five years ago, only 3,000-4,000 take the nursing board examination per annum. Last June, more than 13,200 took the nursing board examinations and more than 7,300 passed.

All these board passers, with very few exceptions, will soon leave for abroad, with US and Canada as their preferred destinations. Those who will find employment in North America will probably settle there for good.

Two to three years ago, only nurses who had at least two years’ experience working in local hospitals are being recruited by foreign health care facilities, but lately, even fresh graduates are being offered jobs. Nurses are offered assistance by recruiters, in the form of top-notch review courses, so they can pass the US board exams. They are also aided in securing their visa and other travel documents.

Philippine hospitals, since five years ago, have been losing their nurses to Europe, the United States and Canada. Since it is almost impossible for local hospitals to match the compensation package that their foreign counterparts offer, many are now experiencing shortage of nurses, and more and more vacancies remain unfilled.

But what I find unnerving is the fact that it is apparently not just the lure of the dollar that attracts many Filipinos to nursing. Some take up the course simply because they want to leave the country and settle elsewhere. How else can you explain the phenomenon of Filipino doctors — many with established clinical practice — taking up nursing and migrating to the US?

Address inquiries on health matters to Dr. Eduardo G. Gonzales, DLSU College of Medicine, Dasmariñas, Cavite 4114.