Raymund De Guzman: A Well-respected Nurse

By Alon Calinao Dy: Raymund De Guzman is my best friend in college and until now we are very good friends. 

He is one of the people I truly admire and respect since he spent many years of nursing service in the Philippines, particularly at the Hospital Of The Infant Jesus in Manila, before leaving the country to work abroad. He is also energetic and passionate nurse in his workplace.

Raymund graduated from the minor seminary in the province of Pangasinan; I graduated from the same formation house but in the province of Samar. He is a loyal and trusted friend through the years who can keep secrets and confidential information about you. He's a tentative and a quite person as he knows how to listen to his friends before making any suggestions.

Facebook photo of Raymund De Guzman

Raymund, who presently works as a staff nurse at Al-Rustaq in Oman, believes that in order to become a successful nurse you should enjoy yourself in the service of the sick. 

It is the clean, white uniform that symbolizes the purity of the nursing profession, but it's always the act of the heart that does the talking and makes the job noble. He is well liked and wonderful nurse to all the people he worked with.

Facebook photo of Raymund  De Guzman

Beside me, he has dozens of friends since he is a friend or someone you can speak with whenever you have problems or you need a support system. It's apparent that he is admired by lots of people.

I'm so grateful to have him on my friends list as it is not a number of friends you can have, but it is the quality of friends that genuinely matters to me.

Thank you so much for the friendship, Raymund. I am sure you would bring many smiles to the people close to you, for you are a certified awesome friend. 

A Crazy Senior Cath Lab Nurse

By Alon Calinao Dy: When I was a Cath Lab nurse in Chest Diseases Hospital, the hours of work could be exhausting and punishing for some but not for me. I was constantly interested to learn new things and I regarded the real excitement with it. That's why overwhelming stress, which could contribute to severe mental and physical health problems was nothing for me, since I always considered things positive at work. Thus, I could cope up with any difficulties in my job and could make friends easily.

One day I met this Filipino senior nurse who worked in the Cath Lab for adult patients. He was a male nurse like me. At first, he seemed nice and easy going individual. I was so happy at the time because I came across a fellow Filipino in the Middle East. We frequently talked to each other and made funny jokes about everything. 

Until one time, he told me that Cath Lab was the best department of all nursing stations in the hospital. He then asked me where I would like to be stationed if I was given a chance to choose a place. I thought he was not serious about his question, so I argued back as a joke and said to him that anywhere was just okay for me. He was offended by my answer, but I never thought that he would get that joke seriously.

Three days had gone things were quite normal between us, except that later in the day, I heard the nursing supervisor complained me of something I did not do. A statement of complaint about me was that I was missing at the start of my duty. To be specific, I was absent for 4 hours, seriously? My close friend Sherwin knew what exactly happened because I was talking to him that day while  he was waiting for his Ministry bus way back home.

Yes, I had many witnesses that would prove I was working with them at the outset of our duty. I also had eyewitnesses that would indicate that my Filipino senior nurse was the one who called our nursing supervisor to complain about me. After knowing this, I confronted him. I told him why he did not tell the whole truth that he saw me at work. He denied all the allegations that he was the one who drew a complaint. 

Two foreign nurses playing computer games while on duty

But rather, he blamed other senior nationalities who made a charge. When in fact, my colleagues told me that he was the one who phoned our nursing supervisor. Not only that, I saw with my own eyes these seniors including the Filipino playing video games and watching shows instead of performing their duties and responsibilities. I took photos to be used as evidence after they made a complaint against me. The picture clearly showed that they were watching videos during their hours of work. 

When I presented this evidence to the nurse manager, the nurse manager spoke with them in Arabic. I did not understand their entire conversation because they talked in Arabic fluently. But because they were seniors, they could hide their wrongdoings in order to avoid being exposed. Ministry of Health in Kuwait was paying them a good amount of money for them to work properly, but then they abused this privilege. A chance your voice being heard was low because the system was predominantly based on seniority or Wasta (Nepotism).

I found out that not all OFWs could be trusted. I didn't realize I would be betrayed by a fellow Filipino whom I called a friend. I didn't even say bad words on his personality at the beginning till I had recognized his true color. Even so, I treated him with respect and dignity since I still considered him as my senior nurse even though he disrespected me. I never lied or stayed in one seat for 4 hours or longer. That was extremely excessive and unacceptable circumstance that happened to me. I was a victim and would never ever forget about all those lies I encountered! 

I posted this story to a thousand of readers so that they could learn something from my experience overseas. As I said earlier, not all OFWs are true friends. It's better to have few good friends instead of many acquaintances who would pull you down in the end. Despite what happened, I still need to forgive and forget all the unpleasant memories. I thanked God for all the blessings he gave me, and I am still having these days.

Thank you for reading!

Not All OFWs Are Cheaters

By Alon Calinao Dy: I am a proud Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW), a poetry lover, a blogger, an author, a sports writer, and a nurse by profession.

International Medical Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Due to high unemployment rates for Filipinos in the Philippines, especially for nurses, many workers tend to move out of the country for better opportunities. It is true that there are many competent Filipino workers, but they don't have chances to showcase their gifts and skills.

I recall after I graduated from college, I couldn't find a nursing job suitable for me even though I already passed the Philippine Nursing Licensure Exam and international exams in the US. 

Until today it has been vivid in my mind that I underwent a bunch of trainings to many tertiary hospitals and I was the one who paid for my trainings instead of them paying me for my services. But it was alright because at that time I really wanted to provide my services to my countrymen without expecting in return.

After I acquired almost three years of experience at the Fatima University Medical Center, I determined to work abroad because life became tough for me. Although my parents were very supportive and kind, I made bold decision for myself to go on my path.

Ever since I have been an independent soul, my parents knew about it, trained me when I was a high school student in the seminary. Besides, because I want to marry my long-time girlfriend, who is now my loving wife, need to prove to everyone that I could stand on my own.

Thus I worked first in Saudi Arabia, then found a much better opportunity in Kuwait while I am currently waiting for my immigrant application in the US.

I found out about the cheating issues when I was an expat four years ago. Men and women are alike; they are merely humans who feel the urge like wild beasts. But remember, humans are not savage animals who have just escaped the cage. They know right from wrong; therefore, it wholly depends upon them if they are going to cheat on their wives and husbands.

For about five years I worked in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi and Kuwait, I encountered some bad men and women who are unfaithful to their loved ones. I don't know if they are only looking for fun and "Love and belonginess" by Maslow's Hierarchy.

Perhaps, they are simply at the developmental stage. I'm not certain. Or possibly, they need intimacy, which is the sixth stage of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development that usually takes place between the ages of 19 and 40. Whatever the reason is, cheating is cheating. It is like stealing a small or large amount of money. The act itself is still stealing. 

Nevertheless, I would like to clear everything that not all OFWs are cheaters. I recognize they may feel lonely, homesick, ignored, unhappy, bored, thirst for love, but they can still think right for themselves. They still conduct good values they have learned from their own parents and respective schools. Overall, they hold a great fear towards God.

I detest people who think negative things. I don't know if these are their strategies to separate happy families. Beware of these sort of people. I just want to protect the poor families because not all they read or hear are true. They should fold their ears to some unreliable sources. I strongly encourage them to endure and trust their OFW families because they really need it.

And for those greedy, lying bastards and deceivers, get lost!

Certainly, male OFWs can have many adoring women. But the truth is, they are simply insecure. Their self -esteem is often extremely low. That is why they look for love and other lovers who fill those cracks. They look for sexy and beautiful adult females; they are dimmed by their sex drive. But what they don't have is the right thinking or judgement. 

And for those women who screw their husbands, wait, I think they are crazy and jerks!

A piece of advice: if sex is not enough for you, then you have applied whores. Sex is not important than love, although they are equally indispensable. When people grow old, they often don't need sex, but a companion who would love them till the end. A true love is difficult to find nowadays, especially if people don't deserve it. 

I don't desire to be rude or hurt anyone. I just want to be true to everyone. I have great concern for their families, as much as possible, they should stick together and defend one another.

Filipino Migrant Writers' Society in Kuwait

Some people can cook up stories to destroy some families, but if the foundation of every family is solid, no one can break them. But if it is like a rotten wood, then everything will turn into slices. 

As temptations are everywhere, people should not forget their real purpose why they work overseas, and that is, to support financially the basic needs of their kins. And most importantly, to express how much they love them in the extent to give their own happiness for them.

Moreover, for those people who have zilch to do with their life, but create only gossips, I pity them!

I need only one thing, please refrain doing undesirable deed towards others. These people are not public figures or celebrities who appear on the tv screens.  These are actual people who have families who depend upon them. These are real heroes who work long hours each day, even though they have demanding employers who always see their every mistake. 

They are OFWs who make sacrifices and left their own families in hopes that they would be able to give a shiny future for their loved ones. 

Yes, they are the ones who battle for homesickness, but then other people belittle, abuse, and defraud them with their twisted lies. 

They are true heroes, but most people don't appreciate everything they do for their family and country; consequently, they have been labeled as cheaters, pretenders, and other hurtful names.

Don't Accept Nurse Applicants When There Are No Jobs At Hand

By Alon Calinao Dy: In the Philippines, there are many agencies that force Filipino nurses to meet the requirements before applying certain nursing positions overseas. 

The heartbreaking truth is that these agencies make it more difficult for our registered nurses to fulfill their dreams working abroad even though these foreign employers only require basic qualifications that are easy to provide at the deadline.

The worst part of this, they continue to accept nurse applicants even though the positions are no longer available for them. I hate to say this word but they are big BS*. Instead of helping their countrymen who hope for greener pastures abroad, they take advantage and make the situations worse for them.

Our professional nurses don't deserve these fraudulent employment agencies. They have the rights to know beforehand whether they are accepted or not, so that they can save time and apply to other potential employers who are willing to hire them. 

Stop making false reassurance to all those nurse applicants not only here in the Philippines but also to other parts of the world. Nursing is one of the most trusted and respected professions around the globe.

Nurses don't need these qualifications when these jobs do not permit them. They just need people who are true to them. Don't abuse them because they deserve great respect. Don't say anything against them because they help the economy of the country through monthly remittances like any other OFWs.

Please support and take good care of our Filipino nurses and nurses worldwide. Help them find reputable jobs that are suitable for their qualifications. 

Again, don't accept nurse applicants when there are no jobs at hand.

Mabuhay mga pinoy nurses at mga nars sa buong mundo!