“The CCA program, as you might recall, is our attempt to help the thousands of underboard nurses, people who have graduated and have a nursing degree, but for one reason or another did not pass the test during their time.
Just this week, the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) for the Healthcare Sector informed President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. that 457 nursing graduates have availed of the government’s Clinical Care Associate’s (CCA) Program which aims to help them pass the board exams and augment the number of nurses in the country.
As a brief background, the PSAC is the official advisory body composed of business leaders and experts that offers guidance to the President on the kind and extent of support needed by the country in different areas to attain its economic objectives. These areas are divided into six sectors, namely, Infrastructure, Digitalization, Agriculture, Tourism, Jobs, and Healthcare. The last is what we will highlight this week.
The CCA program was launched in September 2023 and it paves the way for the entry of underboard nurses into the healthcare system and for a nursing review program that will be delivered by identified higher education institutions (HEIs).
PSAC Healthcare Sector Lead Paolo Borromeo, according to a Presidential Communications Office news release, reported to the President that the CCA program is gaining traction in helping the government establish a resilient and responsive healthcare system.
“Just happy to say, Mr. President, that we continue building momentum for what we call the clinical care associates program. The CCA program, as you might recall, is our attempt to help the thousands of underboard nurses, people who have graduated and have a nursing degree, but for one reason or another did not pass the test during their time,” said Borromeo.
He said the first batch of 457 Clinical Care Associates (CCAs) has been matched to seven HEIs for board reviews.
I express my support to the six sectors of PSAC and commend the President and the six Sector Leads for working together to improve the economy via their respective sectors. However, among the six, healthcare is the one closest to my heart.
It goes without saying that frontline medical workers, who include nurses, are a very important segment of our society. However, nurses are often overworked and underpaid.
This importance of having a huge supply of nurses is not readily quantifiable but its value is substantial and immeasurable. One metric that is positively affected by an increase in the number of nurses is healthcare equity.
Healthcare equity focuses on ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality health care.
Nurses can be key contributors to making substantial progress toward healthcare equity in the Philippines. However, the potential for nursing graduates to help people and communities live healthier lives can be realized only if the barriers to their working to the full extent of their education and training are successfully hurdled.
As stated previously, some graduates have a difficult time passing the board exams. However, this is by no means an indicator of their potential or ability to effectively care for patients.
The government must extend help and mentoring to those who dream of becoming nurses but have a difficult time in the board exams.
To this end, it may be necessary to revisit and further supplement the CCA program. The continuing demand abroad and domestically for nurses who were educated and trained in the Philippines is a sign that our nursing education is up to par with international standards.
I support the requirement of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to conduct examinations as a precondition for licensing. However, I suggest a complete review of scope-of-practice laws, public health, and health system policies, and regulations regarding government support to the examinees in the conduct of the examination, evaluation of results, and licensure procedures of medical professionals, nurses in particular.
There is no downside to having a healthy number of registered nurses available.
We have been through the pandemic. Then and up to now, the importance of nurses cannot be over-emphasized. It is time we show our appreciation and support, and extend to them the help they need.
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