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Advancements in Communication and Technology
There has been a huge development in communication and technology incorporated into nursing practice. With the increased need to consult with medical professionals without having physical contact during the pandemic, these advancements in Health IT leaped to even greater speed. The advancement in technology has transformed the workflows of nurses. Though most first nation countries have started adapting these advancements, this presents a challenge for Filipino nurses as most of these new technologies are not widely available in the country. As a nurse, it is prudent to allocate time to study these technological advancements and how they may affect the way we practice. Though it may not be available for now in the country, it may give us an insight into how we can improve the systems we currently use.
Implementation of Evidenced-Based Practice
As nurses, we always encounter problems and patient needs that require effective clinical decision-making to render the best possible individualized care. This is best achieved by implementing evidence-based practice as it allows us to provide care that is constantly reviewed and updated to meet our clients’ ever-changing health needs. As a nurse, it will serve us better to participate in research conducted in our field. This will also ensure that the problems being researched are the ones that we actually experienced in the field making the study more relevant and our practice up to date
Shortage of Nurses
In early April 2020, the Philippines estimated that it needed an additional 300,000 healthcare workers to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that we are now in the 2nd quarter of 2021 and with the constantly increasing number of COVID cases in the country, there is a clear disconnect between the number of nurses who are currently employed to address the pandemic and the number of patients they need to care for. I understand that there are really not enough employed nurses right now, but I would argue that it is not really the number of nurses that are lacking but work opportunity that provides a balance between the risks that come with the job and protection as well as reasonable remuneration. I do not have the exact figures but there is a large number of nurses who choose to leave the profession simply because it is impossible for them to support themselves and their families with the remuneration they receive. I am one of those nurses who temporarily left the profession so I can pursue my dreams of getting a master’s degree in Nursing knowing that it would be extremely difficult for me to do this with the remuneration I receive. I totally agree with Yasmin Ortega, a sociologist when she recommended that one of the best ways to address the nursing shortage in the country is that the Philippine government should focus on trying to get the nurses who have left the profession to come back by enticing them with a regular salary, benefits, proper protection, and hazard pay. Nurses should not have to choose between serving the country or their own families
Burnout
The Philippines’ recommended ratio of nurses to patients is 1:12, but the actual ratio of nurses to patients varies from 1:50 to 1:80, depending on the region of the country. While the nursing workforce continues to deplete, the workloads of those nurses remaining in service continue to increase. This, together with the fear of getting infected due to insufficient protection leads to burnout of nurses making them more susceptible to infection – this is evidenced by statistics that 13% of the country’s COVID cases are healthcare workers. To combat this, the government and all related agencies must ensure that nurses are adequately protected and there are enough nurses to cater to the needs of the increasing number of patients. Services catering to the health needs of nurses should also be available and easily accessible.
Implementation of CPD Units requirement in License Renewal
Implementation of CPD Units for License Renewal While I totally agree that Continuing Education is a must to ensure that we as nurses are able to carry out our responsibility to our clients to provide care that is continually reviewed and updated, I strongly believe that continuing education activities must be available and easily accessible to nurses. Though we cannot deny the fact that organizing these learning activities includes costs, this must be augmented by either the employer or the government, so the nurses do not have to shoulder all the costs. After all the state must also carry out its responsibility towards Filipino Nurses and the Nursing Profession stated on R.A. 9173’s Declaration of Policy which is to institute measures that will result in relevant nursing education, humane working conditions, better career prospects, and a dignified existence for our nurses. It is my hope that Filipino Nurses do not have to wait another 18 years for this like what happened with Section 32 of the same law.