Probe ‘training fees’ nurses pay hospitals

MANILA, Philippines—Is it legal for hospitals to charge nurses training fees by as much as P20,000 so that they can undergo training?

Eastern Samar Ben Evardone is urging the appropriate committee in the House of Representatives to look into this, raising alarm that hospitals, both government and private, may already be exploiting the nurses.

“Government and private hospitals have exploited the situation by charging as much as P20,000 for a three-month training, hiring and deploying them to staff positions in graveyard shifts and without pay, forcing our helpless nurses to bite the bullet and thereby compounding their miseries,” said Evardone’s House Resolution 195.

With about 100,000 nursing graduating every year for the last five years, the lawmakers said that work for nurses here and abroad have become very competitive which forces graduates to acquire additional training from hospitals for a fee.

“But who is regulating this training fee? Is it legal? Apparently, it’s the initiative of the hospitals, including government hospitals,” he added. –Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, Philippine Daily Inquirer