Doctors Are Out

Editorial : Plugging the drain

THE BRAIN drain in the country's medical profession has gone from bad to worse, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said last week. He noted that about 6,000 licensed doctors were enrolled in nursing schools, preparing for lucrative jobs abroad.

Duque said other professionals like accountants, engineers and lawyers have also been shifting to nursing. The exodus of nurses and doctors (many of whom have turned to nursing) may soon create a crisis in the country's health care system.

This phenomenon is only the latest development in the brain drain that began to sap the intellectual, professional and manpower talent of the country in the 1970s. In 2002, about 200,000 professionals, associate professionals and technicians left the Philippines for better-paying jobs abroad. Data for 2003 and 2004 are not yet available, but it would be safe to assume that each year a minimum of 100,000 professionals leave for greener pastures. That means that about 400,000 of the country's best and brightest have left in the past three years, depriving their own people of their talents and services.

The biggest incentive for seeking employment abroad is financial. For instance, nurses abroad get $3,000 to $4,000 a month. Compare that with the $150 to $250 that nurses get and the $300 to $800 that doctors earn in the Philippines. In addition, these health professionals enjoy greater opportunities for professional advancement in the developed countries.

Teachers are leaving the country in droves to work as housemaids abroad. The brightest teachers are in great demand because most of them double as governesses and tutors to their foreign employers' children. This has contributed to the deterioration of the educational system that has to make do with the mostly mediocre teachers who are left behind.

One can go down the line -- from scientists to engineers to educators and managers -- and one will come to the same conclusion: The brain drain is depriving the nation of a great deal of talent that could help push its social and economic development. And the irony is that this phenomenon is benefiting developed countries that should be helping poor countries like the Philippines instead.

What can be done to stop, or at least, to reduce the brain drain from the Philippines?

Ultimately, the answer would be to accelerate the economic development of the country so that corporations and other institutions would be able to pay salaries that can compare favorably with those paid by employers abroad. But given the present state of political turmoil and economic downturn, that is not likely to come in the near future.

In the case of doctors and nurses, it has been suggested that the government require them to render one year of service in the Philippines for each year that they spend in the university or college. Another suggestion is to give tax breaks to hospitals, especially those in the provinces where people have no easy access to health services.

Another option would be to have government and financial institutions provide starting capital for doctors and nurses, particularly in the provinces, for the establishment of hospitals and other medical facilities. This should help create a class of health professionals-entrepreneurs who would not only manage their own hospitals but also give employment to other people.

Professionals should be made to realize that they have a responsibility to pay back the country that provided them with a good education without which they would not be able to find lucrative jobs abroad. So, in the case of the health professionals, in particular, the government could charge expatriate doctors and nurses some form of registration fee, the proceeds of which could be used to improve the country's educational and research infrastructure.

Scientists, engineers and technologists could be induced to remain in the country if they were given higher salaries and more incentives and benefits, including opportunities for study and research that would make them grow professionally.

We can always appeal to the social conscience and patriotism of the professionals and ask them to help their countrymen first before they serve the people of other nations. The government could create a better working environment, one with less corruption and nepotism. But it would be best if, over the long term, the government could accelerate economic development, attract more foreign investment, and help set up companies and institutions that would pay Filipino professionals higher salaries and give them other benefits and privileges.