Filipino nurses are considered as one of the most highly regarded medical interns among hospitals abroad. Being noted as “interns with outmost care” by most patients, Filipino registered nurses strongly categorized as among the best foreign medical professional in the medical industry.

However, Filipino nurses should maintain its competitiveness as other foreign counterparts are slowly getting the attention of foreign employers.

According to Dr. Fely Marilyn Lorenzo of the Instituteof Health Policy and Development Studies- National Institute of Health of the University of the Philippines, the country is not the only viable source of competent nurses in the world.

During the 2^nd Philippine Nursing Competitiveness Conference last December 4 at UP, Lorenzo said that foreign employers are now considering hiring other foreign nurses apart from Filipinos.

“International employers are starting to look at Indiaand Chinafor nurses,” said Lorenzo.

Lorenzo added that some Filipino nurses had problems on working for long hours.

“These employers are seeing that Filipinos are less inclined to work for long hours unlike nurses from Indonesiaand Bangladeshwho are willing to work for long hours, for lesser money,” she added.

Problem on the demand for foreign nurses is noticeably slowing down due to the ongoing economic crisis in some countries.

According to Lorenzo, as few as eight nurses are deployed out of the country every month now.

But then, despite of the stiff competition and negative allegations, Lorenzo noted that Filipino nurses are still the most desired among foreign employers because technically, Filipino nurses are better than those from other countries.

The conference which aims to impart knowledge and boots the competitiveness of our Filipino nurses was attended by professional nurses, students and successful medical professionals.