Nursing graduates who have yet to pass the board examination already possess the skills of a nurse and could help ease the need for them in hospitals nationwide.

In a televised public briefing Tuesday, Philippine College of Physicians president, Dr. Rontgene Solante, said board eligibles are already competent enough to do nursing work after graduation.

“It’s just a matter, that when they will be incorporated or isama na natin sila doon sa mga (include them in the) hospital, they have to undergo training, also the trainers, they will look at how they are competent enough to be working in the hospital,” he said.

Once immersed in the hospitals, Solante said they have to be monitored by the staff and be taught of the processes.

“Because for me, even if they have not taken the board yet, they already possess the skills of a nurse, it’s just a matter that they still have to take the board,” he said. “Napakaimportante nitong hakbang dahil, we can encourage those na nagna-nursing pero hindi pa nag-take ng board, pumupunta ng ibang work kagaya ng mga call centers (This is an important plan because we can encourage those who took nursing but have not taken the board and are taking other work like in call centers).”

Earlier, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said temporary licenses can be provided to board eligibles who received a grade of 70 to 74 percent in the nursing licensure examination.

The Department of Health needs at least 4,800 nurses for its hospitals to be fully functional.

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) reported that there are 951,105 registered nurses in the country but only 509,297 or 53.55 percent are practitioners as of March 24, 2023.

The PRC said the country does not meet the ratio of practicing nurses set by the World Health Organization which is 27.4 for nurses for every 10,000 individuals. (PNA)