THE THREAT of the novel coronavirus causing the pneumonia-like disease now called COVID-19 is real, with five cases already confirmed by the Department of Health. One crucial question that must be answered is: Do we have enough health workers (doctors, nurses, etc.) to mobilize if worse comes to worst?
Beginning today, March 8, the Professional Regulation Commission will be administering four days of licensure examinations for new physicians (March 8-9, 15-16).
We hope and pray we would have more new doctors. They would be a welcome addition to the country’s healthcare professionals – should they decide to stay here, that is. It is public knowledge that many of our doctors and nurses dream of working abroad for high-paying jobs.
There is this prevailing perception that Filipinos, if given the chance, would leaving the country as soon as they can for greener pastures abroad. The number one complaint of our local workers is that they are not well-compensated. That is a reality the government cannot deny. However, if the government raises the salary scale for the workers, investors might relocate to neighboring countries with lower labor cost. It would mean lesser job opportunities for Filipinos.
The scarcity of health professionals in the country is not new. In fact, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines as early as a decade ago observed that aside from healthcare, information technology, finance and accounting, engineering and mechanics and other workers with specialized skills were suffering from shortages.
In fact, this brain drain problem has been raised as early as 1980s. Back then, the effect of the exodus of highly-skilled workers was not obvious. However, the government reacted too slow. Now, we have a scarcity on highly skilled workers, and we do not know anymore how to control it.
Although overseas Filipino workers’ remittances are a big help to the economy, the country’s social services are being sacrificed, such as medical services. Really, how many government doctors and nurses do we have?
