The Roving Nurses

According to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the government must hire unemployed nurses who will be called warriors of wellness in areas stroked by poverty.

The President launched the Nurses Assigned in Rural Areas (NARS) program last Monday. This will install five nurses in each of the 1,000 unfortunate municipalities. Two six-month tours of duty will be given to those nurses. An allowance of P8,000 will be given to them per month. According to the President, the government will provide less than P500 million for the implementation of the program. Municipal mayors were advised to add P2,000 as incentive for the nurses. From her speech during a jobs summit at the Palace, she said that NARS will be mobilized in different hometowns. This means that they will serve as roving nurses for rural schools.

NARS must perform three I's. The three I's are: Initiate health and nutrition programs and first line diagnosis, Inform communities about water sanitation and health surveillance, and Immunize children and their mothers.  Arroyo said that if nurses will lack in experience, it would be hard for them to get jobs in hospitals here and abroad. [via]