DOLE opens website on NARS program

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) opened a website where unemployed nurses can apply for a job, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque yesterday said.

The website www.nars.gov.dole.ph contains pertinent information about the government’s newest program called “Nurses Assigned in Rural Areas,” and application forms that interested nurses can fill up or download.

NARS is a training cum employment program of the Arroyo administration to mitigate the impact of the global financial crisis.

“Nurse-applicants who are dependents of workers affected by the Global Crisis based on the list provided by the DOLE Regional office shall be given priority in the selection,” according to the website.

Those qualified to apply are licensed nurses, below 35 years old, residents of the 1,000 beneficiary-towns and have no nursing-related practice for the past one to three years.

Roque noted that the labor department intends to hire a total of 5,000 nurses for a six-month tour of duty.

NARS was launched last Feb. 9 during the multi-sector summit “Joining Hands Against the Global Crisis” in Malacañang.

The nurses will undergo a six-month training in public health services in the provinces where they will be able to do clinical practice under the supervision of participating hospitals and other medical facilities.

Each of them will receive an allowance of P8,000.

Five nurses will be deployed in each of the 1,000 poorest municipalities and another batch of 5,000 nurses will be hired for six months after the first batch, Roque added.

The program had been criticized by the Health Alliance for Democracy and the Alliance of Health Workers, who said that it would only exploit Filipino nurses further.

The two groups have instead asked the government to open plantilla positions for nurses in government health facilities to create employment for nurses. Interested nurses may check out the site www.nars.gov.dole.ph – Sheila Crisostomo, Philippine Star