Doctor-Nurses

Hospitals are full of Filipino nurses, many of whom are overqualified. Many Philippine doctors become nurses in other countries, especially the United States of America. They call themselves MD-RNs.

In applying the push-pull analysis to the situation, one looks for what reasons doctors were pushed out of the Philippines and pulled into other countries, like the U.S. Not surprisingly, the financial factor was significant. Although Philippine society views doctors as professionals who make money esily, reality proves otherwise. Data from the Philipine Bureau of Internal Revenue reveal that the average Filipino physician earns a monthly income of PhP 16,196 ($324). The Philippine government's own economic office estimates that a monthly income of PhP 16,800 ($336) is needed to meet the basic daily needs of a family of six in Metro Manila.

In the U.S., nurses can start earning $4,000 per month, more than ten times what an average doctor earns in the Philippines. In addition, this job would also serve as an entry point and a stepping stone to eventually achieving the American dream.

What this does to the availability of medical professionals in the U.S.? How can the Philippines get better if the highest educated individuals leave the country? It is well documented that overseas workers send remittances back to the Philippines, to a tune of $10.69 billion in 2005 and $12.76 billion in 2006. What an unfortunate situation of dependence.