In 2024, a total of 28,258 Filipino Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) graduates took the US licensure exam for the first time, driven by the promise of higher pay and better career prospects in the United States, according to Quezon City Representative Marvin Rillo.
Rillo, also the Vice Chairperson of the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, pointed out that the number of Philippine-educated nurses seeking to practice in the US remains high due to low salaries in the Philippines.
“We are effectively pushing our nurses away because of insufficient pay here,” he stressed.
He estimates that 54 percent of first-time BSN graduates from the Philippines pass the US licensure exam, while 36% of repeat test-takers succeed.
Additionally, 5,869 nursing graduates from India, 3,740 from Kenya, 2,662 from Nepal, and 2,636 from South Korea also took the exam in 2024.
Rillo has long advocated for Filipino nurses' welfare.
He authored House Bill 5276, which proposes a 74-percent increase in the basic monthly pay of entry-level government nurses, raising it to P70,013 (Salary Grade 21) from the current P40,208 (Salary Grade 15).
Meanwhile, Senator Raffy Tulfo is pushing Senate Bill 2694, aiming to increase entry-level public nurses' pay by 40 percent, bringing it to P56,390 (Salary Grade 19).
Both bills seek to amend the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002.
“Higher pay is the best strategy for us to retain some of our nurses in the local health sector,” Rillo emphasized.
The Philippines faces a shortage of 127,000 nurses, which is projected to increase to 250,000 by 2030, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
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