Early History of Philippine Nurses in United States (1898-1930)
After the Spanish-American War (1898) Filipinos became US nationals, the US Army trained and recruited Filipinos as Volunteer Auxiliary and Contract Nurses to serve in the Philippines focusing on tropical diseases. Several were sent to the US (San Francisco and New York) for further training and employment.In 1907 formalize nursing education was established in the Philippines to trained Filipino nurses patterned on US curriculum. Shortage of nurses was evident due to the increased in epidemic of Tuberculosis, Typhoid and other communicable disease and the advent of World War I. The Pensionado Act (1903), established and legislated a formalize framework to send Filipino pensionados (government subsidized scholars) to the United States for further education and training. Some stayed in the US for employment. Since that time a continuous influx of Filipino nurses worked in New York City, and made a vital contribution to the demands of healthcare at that time. Their work standards are at par with their counterparts, and they were disciplined, hard working and dedicated. The Philippine Nurses Association –New York, was established in 1928 by the stellar Filipino nurses with the goals of promoting cultural understanding and streamline professional guidance to other Filipino nurses. The first president was Marta Ubana who completed her Bachelor of Science in Teachers College, Columbia University.