Room Nurses by Cynthia Villar

Winnie Monsod:
Nung kayo po ay nasa Kongreso, Kayo ay naging chaiman ng Committee on education, at noong panahon na iyon, 2005-2006, nagkaroon ng malaking kontrobersya, kasi yung Comission on highed education gustong isara ang 23 nursing schools sapagkat ang dami dami nilang walang kalidad, at tsaka nasasayang lang yung pera ng mga nursing students tapos hindi sila makapasa ng professional regulatory exam or yung tinatawag na NCLEX. Nung ginawa ito ng CHED, mukhang nag-intervene po ang kongreso, sa iyo, yung committee on education at humihingi kayo ng dialogue. Ang bottom line, is that walang nasara na eskwela. And as a result,nag-resign po si Chairman Fr. Rolando Dela Rosa, nag-resign ang buong technical committee on nursing education. Ngayon, ang question ko, it seems nag-side po kayo sa side ng business, sa mga owners ng school. At tsaka hindi niyo pinakinggan yung mga kailangan magawa para sa mga nursing students na nawalan na ng pera, hindi naman sila pwedeng pumasa. Now how, Cong.Villar, can you reconcile itong parang seeming disconnect between yung desire ninyo to help the poor at tsaka yung pagpanig niyo sa mga owners ng mga educational institutions na gustong isara ng technical nursing committee at tsaka yung CHED?

Cynthia Villar:
Maraming salamat mareng winnie i want to explain that situation to you, hindi naman ganoon ang istorya noon. Ang nangyari noon, binigyan nila ng permit yung mga schools to open, ng CHED. Tapos gusto nila ipasara, nakapag-invest na yung mga may-ari ng schools sa mga kanilang facilities. And then, sinasabi nila na kaya daw nila gustong ipasara dahil walang tertiary hospital, kasi sa mga nursing school to, na where they can train. Ang sinasabi namin noon, hindi naman po kami kumokontra sa CHED, ang sinasabi namain, kasi tinignan namin yung syllabus, yung mga courses na kunin nila, and then nakita namin na after lang, sa third year kailangan nila yung tertiary hospital so ni-request namin na hindi nalang ipasara yung pre-nursing, yung first two years. (end of timer)

Winnie Monsod:
Follow-up question nalang po ano, ha? Ay kung ganoon pala ang istorya, bakit bumaba pa ang mga nurses na-employ sa abroad, kasi hindi sila qualified? In other words, if it's only a matter of investment, bakit po hindi sila ma-employ employ? At bakit po nag-resign ang technichal nursing education committee, at tsaka nag-resign after only 7 months in office? Do you think they just did not understand?

Cynthia Villar:
No, yung pag-reresign po ni father is a personal quarrel with the owner of a school. Medyo personal po yun. Pero yung amin po, ay sinasabi po namin sa kanila na actually, HINDI NAMAN KAILANGAN ANG NURSE AY MATAPOS NG BSN, kasi itong ating mga nurses, GUSTO LANG NILA MAGING "ROOM NURSE." Sa America or sa other countries, ano lang sila, YUNG PARANG MANG-AALAGA. HINDI NAMAN SILA KAILANGAN GANOON KAGALING. kasi sa ibang country (end of timer)

"Pagsubok ng mga Kandidato-Part 2"
Airing Date: February 23, 2013
GMA News TV-11

Do we want to be called Room Nurses?

Nurses’ group slams Cynthia Villar’s ‘room nurse’ tag

By ANDREO CALONZO, GMA NEWSMarch 6, 2013 6:55pm


The Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) on Wednesday said it “strongly detests” the “room nurse” label used by senatorial candidate Cynthia Villar in a debate.

The association, which claims to have over 360,000 members nationwide, said the nursing curriculum in the country “aims to produce a holistic professional nurse.”

“While some of our countrymen equate nursing to patient care or home care, we want to emphasize to them that patient care or home care is only one aspect of our profession, while maintaining the integrity and dignity of Filipino nurses,” the group said in a statement signed by its board of governors.

Villar had apologized for the controversial statement she made on national television two weeks ago.

During the program, Villar said that some nursing students did not have to finish their undergraduate degrees if they wanted to be “room nurses” abroad.

In her apology, the senatorial candidate said she did not have time to elaborate on her statement due to time constraints. She also said she had written a letter apologizing to and seeking dialog with the PNA.

The PNA, for its part, said it is “challenged” by Villar’s statements to “promote and protect the integrity” of the nursing profession.

It likewise urged Filipino nurses “to continue with their good work and in making a difference as they touch lives.”

What went before

In September 2004, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), then led by Fr. Rolando dela Rosa, ordered nursing schools offering nursing courses to comply with all the commission’s requirements in order for them to be accredited.

The CHED’s directive was prompted by the proliferation of supposedly substandard nursing schools whose students perform poorly in licensure exams.

A school must meet four requirements to be able to offer a nursing program: a dean with a postgraduate nursing degree, faculty members with master’s degrees, adequate facilities such as a library and a laboratory, and its own or a partner tertiary base hospital for its students’ hands-on training.

In 2005, Dela Rosa requested 23 schools to stop its nursing courses as they failed to meet the CHED’s requirements. The directive was opposed by the supposedly substandard educational institutions.

The House committee on higher and technical education, then chaired by Villar, called congressional hearings to intercede and deal with the matter.

During the hearings, some lawmakers reportedly criticized CHED for its supposed “abuses” and “injustice” against the nursing schools, which had invested in their nursing programs.

Villar, in a statement, explained that her committee sought to give some students who wanted to become caregivers the option to be given certifications on completing the first two years of their courses. Those who opt to continue their trainings in hospitals can continue their courses too.

At the height of the controversy, Dela Rosa stepped down as CHED chairperson, citing “personal reasons” and “conflict with his priestly ministry.” The Philippine Daily Inquirer, citing an unnamed source, however reported that the official quit his post due to pressure from some lawmakers who threatened to cut the commission’s 2005 budget if the nursing schools were shut down.

Villar, for her part, said these issues were already beyond purview. She said she had no power over CHED or the nursing schools during her stint as a congresswoman. — DVM, GMA News