Competitive salaries in the US affect staff recruitment at DPH

The Department of Public Health said it is striving to maintain full staffing of its healthcare workforce but the recruitment and retention of clinicians remain a challenge due to the competitive salaries in the U.S. mainland.

In its recently released 2008 Health Data Report, DPH said that current CNMI licensure regulations require physicians to hold U.S. or Canadian credentials in order to practice, “except under special circumstances.”

The report noted that nursing is the only health profession on island that is available for formal training.

DPH said in its report that despite initial success in the number of associate degree prepared graduates that pass the NCLEX, a vast majority of nursing staff are foreign hired.

The data showed that of the total number of 164 licensed nurses at the Commonwealth Health Center, 133 are nonresidents while 31 are residents. These include 115 registered nurse (101 nonresidents, 14 residents); 6 nurse midwives (3 nonresidents, 3 residents); 27 licensed practical nurses (26 nonresidents, 1 resident); and 16 nurse assistants (3 nonresidents, 13 residents).

The current number of DPH staff stands at 526, including 367 for the Division of Hospital, 113 for the Division of Public Health, 26 for the Community Guidance Center, and six for the Medicaid Office.

Also included are 14 for the Medical Referral office on Saipan (5), Guam (4), and Hawaii (5). There is no staff for the referral office in the Philippines.

By position and employment status, the DPH has no current pathologist and radiologist.

The other medical providers with their number of staff are the following: Anesthesiologist (2), Ear/Nose/Throat (1), Emergency Medicine (5), Family Practice/Internal Medicine (8), Nephrologist (1), Obstetrics/Gynecologist (2), Orthopedic Surgeon (1), Surgeons (2), Pediatrician (5), Psychiatrist (1), Public Health Medical Doctor (1), and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (2).

PIHOA-WHO Human Resources for Health Planning Project gave its recommendations in June this year on how to resolve the healthcare staffing issues.

These recommendations include increasing the promotion of health careers to students, expanding the nursing program, and increasing the use of Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Anesthetists.

Such recommendations are seen to help reduce the challenges the CNMI is facing in the hiring and retaining of qualified staff.

DPH vowed to support all efforts to increase training and capacity building of the local healthcare workforce.