The Philippines is dealing with a nursing shortage as countries like Canada recruit within its borders. When the nurses leave, it causes a ripple effect on those left behind in the Philippines.
I’ve always felt this system was morally dubious. A poorer country spends public money and social resources to educate their population and a rich country like Canada actively recruits them once they’re already trained, sometimes just to be Uber drivers who can’t get their certifications recognized. Meanwhile, Canada saves money on training their own nurses (and other professionals). Even straight A students can have a hard time getting into nursing programs because there aren’t enough spots. As usual, we underinvest.
Canada has literally the most educated populace in the world, but I’m not convinced we’re using all that human potential efficiently.
Almost 10% of the entire GDP of the Philippines is the money those overseas workers send home:
You’re not wrong about the fact that we underinvest in training our own population to do this work though.
I genuinely don’t know if remittances justify the brain drain, either economically or morally. Are they really better off sending their most educated people overseas? Do remittances lead to the development of a sustainable long term economy?
I don’t know that it’s better; just pointing out that it is kind of how the country works right now. Around 10% of their entire population works overseas at any given time. And those higher paid workers like nurses can bring a lot of value to their families back home.
Is it right? Is it a good idea? I can’t speak to that. But the country has developed an entire administration to deal with it:
(I work with a lot of Filipino nurses who have explained some of this mentality to me.)
No, we train nurses and doctors too, spending social resources doing it, then the US hires them. ☠️
No as in, we’re not at the top of the turd pile. What you described is valid and it happens to us too. It looks like letting the market handle the availability of trained labor might not be the brightest idea.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In Manila’s Pasay neighbourhood, people knock on nurse Irene Bernabe’s door at all hours of the day.
In 2021, Canada had a higher nurse-to-population ratio than the Philippines, sitting at 102.7 nurses and midwives per 10,000 people, according to World Health Organization data.
“It’s important to recognize the precarity of the health system in the Philippines and the density of nurses per population is only one indication,” said Bourgeault.
A spokesperson with the province’s health authority said in an emailed statement that those who apply must meet the requirements for licensing through the College of Registered Nurses of Saskatchewan.
Zambory says she was grateful for the Filipino nurses that came in 2009, but says it was a lot of work to train and introduce them to the Saskatchewan health-care system on top of her workload as an RN.
Provinces should focus more on proper health workforce planning, hire talent already in Canada and streamline bridging programs before recruiting abroad, said Margaret Walton-Roberts, a professor in Wilfrid Laurier University’s geography and environmental studies department.
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