New batch of Filipino health workers leaves for Japan

Kyodo News


MANILA - A new batch of Philippine health workers, prequalified to train for practicing their profession in Japan under a bilateral agreement, left the Philippines for Japan on Wednesday.
The 144 health workers -- 64 nurses and 80 caregivers -- are required to participate in a six-month language program before starting medical training at Japanese health institutions, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said.
The group already underwent a six-month Japanese language course in the Philippines, a measure aimed at increasing the chances for Filipino candidates to pass the Japanese licensure exam for nurses and caregivers.
Before boarding her flight to Japan, nurse Maribeth Siocson, 27, told Kyodo News the six months of training "prepared us for the big challenge that we will face in Japan."
Six caregivers considered to be part of the batch were in May deployed to their respective health institutions in Japan because of their Japanese language proficiency, the POEA said.
Up until May last year, the Philippines sent 237 nurses and 396 caregivers to Japan under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, which took effect in December 2008.
But so far only 25 Filipino nurses and 43 caregivers have passed the Japanese licensure examinations.
To increase the exam pass rate, the Japanese government, through the Japan Foundation, began offering a three-month pre-training for Filipino health workers in 2011.
Apart from the extension of the pre-training period to six months, Japan also allowed the provision of English translations of highly technical medical terms in the licensure examinations.
==Kyodo

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