Re: Re: Re: Re: Nurse-to-patient staffing minimums are a reform victory

["Ken Hanly" <khanly@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Our local city hospital in Brandon has 7 Phillipino nurses just arrived and
at least 3 more are coming. It certainly helps relieve the nursing shortage
but unless Manitoba matches or comes  close to matching salary levels in
other provinces and the US, and/or improves working conditions substantially
the shortage will continue.
    I imagine climate shock rather than culture shock will be the biggest
hurdle for the Philippinos. There are already a number of Philippino
families in the city. However,  with windchills approaching minus 40 F or C
the last few days, it may be a bit difficult to adjust!

Cheers, Ken Hanly

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rakesh Bhandari" <rakeshb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2002 10:02 PM
>Subject: [PEN-L:21952] Re: Re: Re: Nurse-to-patient staffing minimums are a
reform victory


> Michael wrote:
>
> >The brain drain, such as the nurses from Philippines, might provide
> >remittances to needy people back home, but the country would do better to
> >find productive domestic employment for their trained personnel.
>
> Yes but when the average doctor in third world probably does not make
> more than $500/mo--which is about 1/20th what could be made in the
> US?--it's going to be difficult to encourage professionals to stay at
> home when high income societies can in fact afford (and have
> effective demand for) more professionals than they are themselves
> producing--it's not clear to me that immigrants have taken away jobs
> from native born Americans. Kenya for example is being routed of its
> doctors I believe. But then Spain is sending nurses to the UK;
> Hungary doctors to Norway, I believe.
>
> There is also the possibility that if there wasn't the prospect of
> emigrating to a high income country, there would be many fewer people
> who would train themselves to be doctors, engineers and nurses.  That
> is, the requirement that professionals stay at home may decrease
> their supply? I don't know. I am just guessing? But I wouldn't rule
> it out. My doctor uncle in India works six day weeks, 10 hour days
> for what I would imagine is not more than 1/10th what he could have
> made in the US.
>
> I do remember reading an analysis about five years ago about the
> Korean and Philippine states may have allowed for there to be an
> oversupply of nurses, hoping that those who emigrated would send back
> hard currency which after all is needed to buy things like good
> medical equipment.
>
> So if we take this option away, how else is hard currency to be earned?
>
> And as long as there is emigration of professionals to high income
> countries, shouldn't there be some payment for the so called human
> capital they embody? It would also help if IPR regimes were lax, and
> the IMF did not require medical services to be cut! On that I am sure
> we are all agreed.
>
>
>
>
> >  In my
> >hometown, the good number of the doctors are from India and the
> >Philippines.  I cannot believe that they have a surplus of good medical
> >care.
>
> No but they are low income countries. And it's not clear that there
> is a shortage of professionals vis a vis the demand that is generated
> in a low income country. So if there is going to be an overflow, I
> think there should be talk of some compensation mechanism. I
> seriously doubt that the remittances that flow back are sufficient to
> cover the costs that went into the education of emigrant professionals
>
>
>
> >  Cuba can afford to export doctors, given its surplus, but it is
> >unique.
>
> yes.
>
> rakesh
>