Hospitals urged to hire ‘surplus nurses’

A GLUT of graduates has thinned out chances of employment for the country’s nurses, the owner of one of Cebu’s leading medical schools said yesterday.

Dr. Potenciano Larrazabal Jr., owner and president of Cebu Doctor’s University, said nursing schools should hire or help their nurses find employment in hospitals.

He said CDU would ensure employment for the 448 graduates who passed in the recent nursing exams.

He said CDU is ranked 16th in the country with a national passing percentage of 86.15 percent.

“I think we have produced too many nurses,” Larrazabal said in a radio interview.

CDU had five hospitals- Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital, Mactan Doctors’ Hospital, South General Hospital, North General Hospital and
San Carlos Doctors Hospital.

Dr. Larrazabal said their hospitals prioritize their nursing graduates over those from other schools.

But he said their hospitals serve as training grounds for the nurses who eventually leave for greener pastures abroad.

Larrazabal said nurses in the US receive $2,000 to $3,000 a month or close to P100,000.

In contrast, nurses in the country receive P12,000 to P15,000 a month.

Larrazabal said their nurses are paid better than other personnel in the hospital.

He said that while other hospitals accept nurses even on voluntary basis, their hospitals pay their nurses once they hire them.

Larrazabal said their turnover rate or the average tenure of nurses in their hospital is one to two years.

That’s why they hire four times a year with batches numbering 90 to 95 graduates each, ensuring the employment of their nurses a year after
they passed the exams, he said.

Due to the surplus of nurses, Larrazabal said they limited their students from over 1,000 to 350 a year.

He advised high school graduates against enrolling in nursing courses unless they plan to pursue medicine or have relatives abroad.