Public and private hospitals in the Philippinesare now not allowed to require cash payment for nurses who want to acquire work experience by signing up as volunteer nurses.

This rule is stated in House Bill 5445 that was recently approved by the House of Representatives on second reading. The new bill aims to prevent the exploitation of registered nurses who offer their services as volunteer nurses in public or private hospitals.

Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Marañon III, the chairman of House committee on health endorsed the bill for plenary. House Bill 5445 replaced House Bill 767 which was authored by Laguna Rep. Edgar San Luis.

San Luis said, “With the decline of demand for nurses in the United States and the United Kingdom, more nursing graduates end up unemployed while many of them shifted to work at call centers, retail stores and other non-professional positions. Those who are lucky enough to obtain employment abroad usually end up as caregivers, dental assistants and nursing aides.”

According to the Laguna Rep., Filipino nurses today agrees to pay hospitals to be a volunteer nurse and gain the training they need because of the fact that employment opportunities for them in the country is so scarce.

San Luis said, “This is plain and simple exploitation. No matter how the hospital administrators call the pernicious practice, whether it is training, skills building, volunteer work or whatever, it is unfair to the nurses and their parents who toiled hard and spent money just so their children will become nurses.”

The bill specifies that all who will not comply with the new law will face one year imprisonment and a fine of P500,000. It also requires the Board of Nursing, Department of Health (DOH) and the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to review all the training programs for registered nurses that are being implemented in hospitals.

The bill states that only the programs that will receive accreditation from the DOH and the PRC Board of Nursing will be implemented and be allowed to charge corresponding fees.

Furthermore, the law states that any nurse volunteer who will be asked to pay the hospital will be entitled to a full refund of the amount paid plus interest of six percent per annum until it is fully paid.

Hospitals are also required to pay nurse trainees for their services. The salary is equivalent to Salary Grade 11.