Exodus of nurses still triggers touchy debate

Second of two parts

IT may not have reached the higher levels of the decibel scale yet, but there is an ongoing debate on what to do with the exodus of nurses and other health workers for better paying jobs abroad.

On the one hand, you have the nurses themselves, as well as leaders of the profession, who say “hey, last we looked, this was still a democratic country, and anybody is free to travel and work elsewhere, if employers will take him in.”

On the other, you have lawmakers and other government officials who have expressed alarm over the diaspora, fearing the development—and the resulting dearth of such professionals will exact a heavy toll on the health of the population.

And for good reason, says Dr. Jaime Z. Galvez Tan, former health secretary and now vice chancellor for research at the University of the Philippines in Manila and executive director of the National Institute of Health. Details