It looks like more and more Filipino nurses are setting their sights on the United States for employment purposes.
In a report published by GMA Network, it has been confirmed that the number of Filipino nurses who took the US National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) has increased by 16.4% for the first quarter of the year 2016.
According to the US National Council of State Boards of Nursing Inc (USNCSBN), 1,377 nurses took the NCLEX for the first time this year from January to March. This is a bigger number compared with last year’s 1,183 nurses during the same period.
Cebu Representative Gullas commented about this trend saying:
“Filipinos nurses are among the hardest-working staff in American hospitals today. In fact, on weekends and holidays, Filipino nurses are readily available for additional work, when other nurses prefer to take the day off.”
Furthermore, Gullas pointed out that in the past 2 decades, the number of nurses from the country who take the NCLEX average around 8,134.
Gullas, who currently serves as the vice chairman of the House committee on higher and technical education, added that many American nurses easily get tired of the profession after only a few years while most Filipinos manage to stay dependable and enthusiastic on their job, making them a top pick among employers.
“Many US-educated nurses practice their profession only for a few years. They easily get tired of tough hospital work and simply shift to other careers,” remarked Gullas.
Gullas is an aggressive advocate for nurses and in his work in the Congress, the representative has pushed for entry-level basic monthly pay for public nurses to Salary Grade (SG) 15 which is about Php 24,887. This is based on Republic Act No. 9173 or the Nursing Law of 2002.
In comparison, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said that registered nurses who work in the US receive a median annual salary of $66,640 (an estimated amount of Php 3.1 million) or an hourly rate of $32.04 (or Php 1,492.00)