Nursing in the Philippines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Women in society

Society[show]

Science
Technology
[show]

Arts
Humanities
[show]

Religion[show]
Popular culture[show]
By country[show]

Feminism portal

The history of nursing in the Philippines stems from the caregiving provided by women, priests,
and herb doctors during precolonial Philippines. This trend continue during the Spanish colonial era,
although women did not have much opportunity to be formally educated in schools because only a
limited number of Filipino women received primary education in charitable institutions established by
Spaniards. During the Philippine revolution against, Filipino women also became the providers of
care for wounded revolutionaries. During the American period in the Philippines, Filipino women
were given the chance to become educated as nurses, guided by their American nurse and
missionary mentors, until nursing became a full-pledged profession in the Philippines, a professional
career not only for modern-day women in the country but also for men in the Philippines (as male
nurses).
The growth of Nursing in the Philippines as a profession is preceded by a culture of care which was
inherent in the culture of the Filipino people. Such was said to be present even prior to the Spanish
colonization in communities and evolved as the health system delivery also came about. [1]

Contents
[hide]

1 History
o

1.1 Early Philippines

1.2 Spanish colonial rule

1.3 Philippine Revolution

1.4 American colonial rule

1.5 Post-colonial Philippines

1.6 Today

2 Education

3 Legal regulation

4 See also

5 References

History[edit]
Early Philippines[edit]
Early beliefs of health and illness in the Philippines were in conjunction with beliefs of mysticism and
superstitions.[2] The cause of a disease was believed to be due to either another person, whom which
was an enemy, or a witch or evil spirits. Filipinos were careful not to upset other people or the evil
spirits for the good of their health. These evil spirits could be driven away by persons with power to
banish demons. The individuals who were known to rid of demons were either priests or herb
doctors. Filipinos who became sick were usually cared for by the female family members or friends
in the home.[3]

Spanish colonial rule[edit]

During Spain's colonial rule (1521-1898) the Philippine education system offered distinct and
unequal opportunities for Filipinos based on gender. An example of this sexism, was allowing only
limited numbers of females receive primary education in Spanish charitable institutions. [3] Without an
education women were unable to gain much knowledge or power. The knowledge of caring for
others came from family members and personal experience with the sick. Nursing other individuals
was seen as a task not a job or a profession. During the Spanish regime many specialized hospitals
were established to care for Spanish kings soldiers and civilians.[2] To many elite Filipinos the
Spanish colonial hospitals were places where those who were not so fortunate to have homes, spent
their last days until death.[3]

Philippine Revolution[edit]
At the time of the Philippine Revolution many women transformed their homes into quarters to nurse
Filipino soldiers and revolutionaries.[2] One of these women was Melchora Aquino, also known as the

Mother of the Philippine revolution. In her old age of about 80, Aquino was a supporter of the
revolution by providing food and shelter to the revolutionists. In addition she provided care for those
who became sick or wounded. However, a few days after the revolution began, Aquino was arrested
by the Spaniards for providing care to the rebels. In her strong will to not reveal any information to
the Spanish about the location of the rebel leader, Aquino was deported to Guam in the Marianas.
After six years of being exiled, the Mother of the Philippine revolution was able to return in 1903,
when the Philippines finally gained independence from the Americans. Aquinos work caring for the ill
and the wounded during the revolution has brought comparisons to the British Florence Nightingale.
Both these women cared for soldiers during war and paved the way for nursing practice. [4]

American colonial rule[edit]

Union Mission Hospital Training School for Nurses which was established in 1906 byPresbyterian American
missionaries, pioneered the Nursing education in the Philippines. The school was later transferred to Central
Philippine University.

Although the Philippines had gained independence from Spain, the United States began to instill
their power upon the islands and this broke out in conflict between the Filipinos and the Americans.
It was the start of the PhilippineAmerican War. The presence of Americans played a vital role in
influencing the development of nursing into a profession. Nurses and missionaries from the United
States came to act as nurse mentors for the Filipina women. Nursing education, like teaching and
missionary work in the Philippinesprovided white American women with a sense of purpose in the
colony.[3] This influence then continued with the building of many hospitals where American nurses
took charge and Filipino women began to learn under careful eyes. An example of this was the
development of the Iloilo Mission Hospital. The Iloilo started from a humble beginning.[5] In 1901,
through the efforts of Dr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Hall, missionaries of the Presbyterian Foreign Mission
Board, a temporary bamboo clinic was erected at Calle Amparo (now Ledesma Street), Iloilo City,; to
serve as a venue for the treatment of health care to the very poor. This was made possible because
Andrew Hall was a doctor and his wife was a nurse. Like other professions, nursing in the
Philippines evolved from the apprenticeship system.
This system laid the foundation upon which the Union Mission Hospital School of Nursing (then Iloilo
Mission Hospital School of Nursing and now Central Philippine University College of Nursing) was
built. Between the time that this school was built and the time that the Philippines gained their
independence from US colonial rule in 1946, the nursing profession continued to grow with the
development of more nursing schools and the growth of Filipinas seeking the title of a nurse. [2] While
taking advantage of these learning opportunities Filipinos began to learn more about the United
States and the opportunities that the country could hold for them, such as extending their education
and increased pay. This began the migration of nurses to the United States. As individuals began
travelling to and from United States, the stories they brought home began to spark the interest of
others to follow.[6]

Post-colonial Philippines[edit]

After World War II, when Manuel Roxas assumed the presidency of the Republic of the Philippines
on July 4, 1946, it officially marked the end of the colonialism between the United States and the
Philippines. Like much of the rest of the world, the Philippine islands were in ruins and Roxas was
determined to rebuild his country. He made it clear to his constituents that the new government was
still going to rely heavily on US financial support in order to rehabilitate its national economy. Roxas
first attempts to balance the Philippines budget included collecting unpaid taxes, reducing expenses
and promoting foreign trade. Forms of foreign trade would include the exportation of Filipino nurses.
Already trained by Americans, Filipino nurses were the perfect candidates to assist the United States
and other countries experiencing post World War II shortages. At the time in the Philippines there
was also rumor of nursing shortage however it was questioned to be true do to the expanding health
programs, inefficient use of nurses time and skills and loss of qualified nurses to other countries. By
the mid 1960s, Filipino nurses were entering the United States by the thousands. [7] The benefit to the
travelling nurses was that they were able to make nearly 20 times as much as they were earning
back home. Part of this money would be sent back to their families as remittance and this remittance
would in turn assist in boosting the Philippine economy. The negative effects of the high exportation
rate, was that the nurses were adding to their own countrys nursing shortage problem. As well the
Philippines faced losing one of its greatest sources of social capital, which are educated workers.
The negative effects are also seen in the United States as American salaries decrease because
Philippine nurses that newly arrive would work the same job at a lower wage.

Today[edit]
See also: History of Philippine nurses in the United States
The Philippines is the leader in exporting nurses to meet the demands of the United States and other
developed nations. It has been argued however, that The Philippines' persistent production of nurses
for the global market is a state strategy to develop an export industry for economic development.
Things such as immigration services and nursing licensing authorities encourage the production of
nurses for export.[7]

Education[edit]
All registered nurses in the Philippines are required to have a Bachelor's degree in Nursing.[8]

Legal regulation[edit]
The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) oversees the licensing of registered nurses as
authorized by the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002.
A Professional Regulatory Nursing Board implements and enforces the Nursing Act. The board is
composed of a chairperson and six additional members, all of whom are nurses with at least
a master's degree and ten years of nursing experience. The board inspects nursing schools,
conducts licensure examinations, issues and monitors certificates of licensure, promulgates a code
of ethics, participates in recognizing nursing specialty organizations, and prescribes guidelines and
regulations governing the profession under the Nursing Act.
In 2009, the Commission on Higher Education of the Philippines released a report showing the Top
20 nursing schools in country based on average passing rates in nursing board examinations. The
top 20 Nursing Schools in the Philippines with 1000 or more examinees are the following: Silliman
University clinched the top post having an average of 96.57 percent followed by the Saint Louis
University, 95.42; Trinity University of Asia with 95.06; University of Sto. Tomas, 95.06; Cebu
Doctors' University, 91.89; Saint Paul University, 89.79; Central Philippine University, 86.72; De La
Salle University-Health Sciences campus, 85.26; Saint Marys University, 84.10; San Pedro College,
83. 10; Manila Doctors College, 82.56; Centro Escolar University-Manila, 81.50; Angeles University
Foundation, 76.37; Mariano Marcos University, 75.55; University of San Agustin, 73.25; University of

Cebu, 70.99; Metropolitan Hospital College of Nursing, 70.54; Ateneo de Davao University, 70.20;
San Juan De Dios Education Foundation, 69. 91; and University of St. La Salle, 67.55.[9]
For 100 to 999 takers the following are the top 20 Nursing Schools in the Philippines: University of
the Philippines Manila topped the list with 99.41 percent; followed by Xavier University with
97.82; West Visayas State University, 96.75; St. Paul University-Iloilo, 96.16; University of the East
Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center, 95.80; Cebu Normal University, 94.64; Pamantasan
ng Lungsod ng Maynila, 93.14; St. Paul University-Dumaguete, 92.29; Mindanao State University,
92.15; Palawan State University, 92.05;Philippine Christian University, 91.35; Velez College, 90.92;
Colegio de Sta. Lourdes of Leyte Foundation, 88. 55; Chinese General Hospital College of Nursing
and Liberal Arts, 87.60; St. Paul University-Manila, 85.31; Easter College, 85.26; Southville
International School and Colleges, 84.77; St. Paul University-Quezon City, 83.87; Adamson
University, 83.57; and Lyceum of the Philippines University with 82.20.[10]
Only three schools had 100% passing rate (with 10 or more examinees) from November 2009 to
July 2011: University of the Philippines Manila, Philippine Christian University, andNegros Oriental
State University.[11]