Nurses group reiterates stance vs. hiring of clinical care associates

The Philippine Nurses Association, Inc. (PNA) on Thursday reiterated its strong opposition to the hiring of clinical care associates (CCAs) in health facilities.

This, as the PNA emphasized CCAs are basically “underboards,” which meant that they have not yet passed the licensure examination and are therefore not yet eligible to practice in healthcare institutions. 

“Marahas namin itong tinututulan mula pa noong una siyang mabanggit last year. Hindi kami naga-agree na magkaron tayo ng ganyan na pathway sa Pilipinas sapagkat wala pa tayong legislation talaga to support this kind of practice environment for the underboards to actually work in the clinical setting already,” PNA national president Dr. Elmer Bondoc said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview. 

(We vehemently oppose this since it was first mentioned last year. We do not agree that we should have this kind of pathway in the Philippines because we do not have legislation to support this kind of practice environment for the underboards to actually work in the clinical setting already.) 

The PNA made the statement after the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) announced that around 300 CCAs have already been hired in hospitals in relation to the bid of the Marcos administration to address nurse shortage in the country.

Bondoc said that the government should instead focus on encouraging licensed nurses to practice the profession. 

According to Bondoc, even though there are thousands of nurses who passed the past three licensure examinations in November 2022, May 2023, and November 2023, many of them still opt to work as call center agents and virtual assistants due to higher salaries and better working environment.

“Ang programa about sa CCA kasi, hindi nito binibigyan ng solusyon ang current problem ng nurses sa Pilipinas. Kahit marami tayong mga lisensyadong mga nurses, kulang ang mga nurses na nagtatrabaho sa primary healthcare facilities sapagkat wala tayong attractive power na binibigay sa kanila para bumalik sa propesyon at walang retentive capacity kasi hindi binibigay ang nararapat sa mga nurses,” he added.

(The CCA program does not provide a solution to the current problem of nurses in the Philippines. Even though we have many licensed nurses, there is a shortage of nurses working in primary healthcare facilities because we do not have the attractive power to encourage them to return to the profession and there is no retentive capacity because the nurses are not given what they deserve.)

In July 2023, the Department of Health (DOH) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) partnered to pave the way for the entry of CCAs into the healthcare system and a nursing review program that will be delivered by identified higher education institutions. —Giselle Ombay/ VAL, GMA Integrated News