IN DEFENSE OF THE FILIPINO NURSE (Cynthia Villar and Her "Room Nurse" Remark)

        Senatoriable Cynthia Villar is currently in hot water for crafting a statement that has insulted the ego and pride of Filipino nurses. The said statement, which she uttered as a matter of factly on television, is now being widely discussed in various websites. Her video is currently doing the rounds of various Facebook pages, and concerned people are not pleased with how she responded to a question in the said video.

Villar vs. CHED

        In the cable program Pagsubok ng mga Kandidato, Villar was asked why she contradicted the plan of the Commission on Higher Education to “close” nursing schools in our country which do not have the required tertiary hospital during her time as Chairman of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education. Villar argued that it was not proper to put down such schools since the owners have already made a huge investment in terms of facilities for the Nursing program. As a businesswoman herself, I think that it was natural for her to sympathize with the owners of such schools and actually gave a good justification: such schools were already awarded permits by CHED. Villar further added that a tertiary hospital will only be needed by nursing schools once their students are done with their pre-nursing education (first two years). Her suggestion then to CHED, was not to "close" the pre-nursing education program of nursing schools, since a tertiary hospital is not yet needed during the first two years of nursing study.

        My question is, what will happen to nursing students after they are done with their first two years of nursing education? In the first place, why did CHED allow such schools to operate in the absence of a tertiary hospital where student nurses will be trained?

Room Nurse

        What caught the ire of people, most especially nurses, was Villar’s pronouncement that Filipino nursing students need not be that good (kagaling), and that it is not a necessity for them to complete their entire program of study (four years) since they only aspire to become a “room nurse”. In effect, what she was claiming is that Filipino nursing students do not need a diploma and license, since they do not aim to become full-fledged nurses anyway. Is there such a study that will back-up her sweeping statement? Is this the way she perceives nursing students? How insensitive can she get? 

       
        A lot of people are wondering where she came across with the idea of  “room nurse”. Did she mean nursing aid or caregiver? There is nothing wrong though if one simply wants to become a nursing aid or caregiver. But the core issue here is Villar’s generalized assertion that all Filipino nursing students only wish to become a “room nurse” here and abroad, period. This has led people to the idea that she does not have a high regard towards Filipino nurses.

Too Late

        On her Facebook page, Villar was quick to apologize to all Filipino nurses (as expected),  and also formally explained that she only interceded between CHED officials  and school owners way back in 2005 on the issue of tertiary hospital requirement. The last paragraph of her formal statement emphasized that the thirty second time limit per question imposed by the cable program was not enough to discuss all the details of the issue.

        I am certain that Mrs. Villar as well as the other guests that time, were very much aware of such time constraint. Therefore, she must not use it as an excuse for not explaining well her side on the matter. She knew it beforehand. She could have given a compact answer encapsulating the major points in her formal explanation or statement that she posted on her FB page. But above everything else, she could have been more sensitive and careful with her words during her television exposure.

        No amount of explanation will retract the words that have already come out of Mrs. Villar. And no amount of good words will appease the people who felt degraded and insulted by her remarks.

Conclusion

        It is an individual’s choice whether to become a full-fledged nurse, nursing aid, or caregiver. Any kind of occupation or labor has a corresponding dignity to it. What I find very insulting and disturbing at the same time is Villar’s unwarranted assumption that Filipino nursing students do not really have to finish their degree since they only want to become a “room nurse”. 

The author with Batch 2011 Nursing graduates (WCC-QC)

        
        The plain act of a student enrolling in the BS Nursing program (or any degree for that matter), is already a clear indication of his or her intention to go through college and earn a diploma. Reality though, will tell us that many students drop out of college due to some factors, of which financial incapability is one of those. However, this does not mean that such stumbling blocks will douse the fire in them to get their college diploma and realize all their dreams. 

        To all nurses and nursing students, you know better than the lady senatoriable. Keep on dreaming. And keep on touching people's lives.......

 

 Nursing is an art:  and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a preparation, as any painter's or sculptor's work; for what is the having to do with dead canvas or dead marble, compared with having to do with the living body, the temple of God's spirit?  It is one of the Fine Arts:  I had almost said, the finest of Fine Arts.  

~Florence Nightingale