LA TRINIDAD, Benguet (Mar. 27) — Fast turnover in the nursing staff of a government hospital here has been a common occurrence that hospital officials have anticipated it with mitigation measures.

“Once a nurse goes on frequent leaves, we know he or she is already preparing to work abroad so we anticipate the eventual resignation that we start scouting for replacements,” Benguet General Hospital (BeGH) Chief Nurse Virginia Saguidec told the press in the regular Kapihan sa Benguet, which featured the said government hospital.

More volunteer nurses than paid personnel are attending to the health care needs of patients in BeGH, health authorities divulged in the same press conference.

The ratio is almost one paid nurse to two volunteers, revealed Saguidec, saying the 150-bed tertiary hospital has 44 staff nurses and some 81 volunteers. Of the 86 regular nursing staff, 11 are senior nurses, four are nurse supervisors, added Saguidec. She said about half of the staff nurses are veterans, the other half are newly hired.

Volunteers have to be licensed nurses before they could be taken in as volunteers in BeGH, according to Saguidec. “It would be unfair to have unlicensed nurses in the hospital,” she said.

Nurses volunteer their services to gain hospital work experience required for jobs here and abroad, according to Saguidec. They usually serve for three months and the extension depends on their performance, Cabinta added.

Besides volunteers, student nurse affiliations for the required hospital duty in the academe are also accepted in the said hospital.

BeGH Chief Dr. Joseph Cabinta, admitted having agreements with 12 nursing schools and eight caregiver schools aside from practical nursing interns. The hospital gets P80 per shift per student in return, according to Cabinta.

Nurses are among the most in demand among overseas Filipino workers. # Lyn V. Ramo for NORDIS