House OKs bill banning hospitals from making nurses pay for training

MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives has approved on second reading a bill prohibiting public and private hospitals from requiring cash payment from registered nurses who want to gain work experience.

House Bill 5445 seeks to prevent the exploitation of registered nurses who are serving as nurse volunteers in public or private hospitals.

The House committee on health chaired by Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Marañon III had endorsed the bill for plenary. It substituted House Bill 767 authored by Laguna Rep. Edgar San Luis.

“With the decline of demand for nurses in the United States and the United Kingdom, more nursing graduates end up unemployed while many of them shifted to work at call centers, retail stores and other non-professional positions. Those who are lucky enough to obtain employment abroad usually end up as caregivers, dental assistants and nursing aides,” San Luis said.

He said the lack of employment opportunities for nurses in the country makes them vulnerable to the unscrupulous practices of some hospitals that demand cash payment in exchange for the necessary work experience required for jobs abroad.

“This is plain and simple exploitation. No matter how the hospital administrators call the pernicious practice, whether it is training, skills building, volunteer work or whatever, it is unfair to the nurses and their parents who toiled hard and spent money just so their children will become nurses,” he said.

The bill penalizes violators with one year imprisonment and a fine of P500,000.

The measure mandates the Department of Health (DOH) and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Board of Nursing to assess all the training programs for registered nurses that are being implemented in hospitals.

The bill provides that only those programs accredited by the DOH and the PRC Board of Nursing shall be implemented and allowed to charge corresponding fees.

The bill further provides that any nurse volunteer who was required to pay the hospital shall be entitled to a refund of the full amount paid to the hospital plus interest of six percent per annum until said amount is fully paid.

In addition, a salary equivalent to Salary Grade 11 shall be paid by the hospital to the nurse-trainee for services rendered. –Paolo Romero The Philippine Star