Why Do Filipino Nurses Work Overseas?

Photo from wordpress.com. I wrote this article a year ago and republished it here

By Alon Calinao Dy: Have you ever wondered why Filipino nurses decide to work overseas? This question always lingers in my mind. But now, I can finally understand. How many student nurses graduate in the Philippines annually (in thousands)? 36,000? 40,000? And, how many nurses each year become the newly registered nurses in the country? Hence, what do you expect? Do you think that the government could give them all the nursing jobs that they nee, d? I find it insulting; every time I hear someone say that Filipino nurses are only after money. Although, this is partially true that they are seeking better pay and greener pastures abroad. Yet, it is not all about money.

First of all, if Filipino nurses will not go out in the country for work, what do you think will happen to the whole Filipino nurse community? In fact, Filipino nurses who work abroad are actually giving other nurses chances to get nursing jobs in the country. Not only that, their income and remittances alone generate millions of Pesos every year, saving the economy of the country. Do you think that the government will not benefit from this? Of course, everyone does.

Another thing is that Filipino nurses are known for having good qualities such as empathy, respect, good communication skills, emotional stability, flexibility, and many more. This is one of the reasons why they are everywhere in the world, because their employers love to work with them. In abroad, they are not just “Room Nurses”, but they are well-trained and competent, professional registered nurses. They are in demand and popular because they are good at what they do.

Although, Filipino nurses are willing to serve their own country, they have no other choice but to work overseas due to lack of domestic opportunities for nurses in the country. In other words, working overseas is in the best interests of all, especially for their families. You know it is hard for them to see their sons and daughters, crying while they are leaving. For them, the pain is like tearing their hearts apart. If only the country can compensate all their needs, why do they need to work abroad when they can be with their families everyday? Why do they need to suffer years of loneliness, of being away?

Therefore, working abroad as a nurse is not all about money, but it is having good opportunities and getting expertise in the field of nursing. So that when they go back to their country, they would be able to serve their people well. 

Also, being a nurse is a wonderful gift from God Almighty. It feels good when you know that someone recovers because you take good care of him/her. Yes, it is always good to serve ill people. No amount of money will ever buy the happiness that you give to those who are sick. That’s why nurses are angels of the sick.

Does The Nursing Profession Train Students To Become Call Center Agents?

By Alon Calinao Dy: Many Filipinos nowadays are discouraged to take up nursing because there are no available jobs waiting for them in this chosen field. I'm wondering, there are lots of patients in the Philippines, but why we have many unemployed nurses. For new registered nurses, the average salary in the country is PHP 8,000 - 12,000 monthly.

The protest to increase the wages of nurses started many years ago, but it seemed nothing has ever changed. If new nurses receive 25,000 every month when they start working, then the public and private hospitals may be able to help them and their families financially.

Over the last few years, we've felt the burden of high taxes, commodities, fares, and many more. It's no wonder that nursing salaries are still low. Not only that, public and private companies should also upgrade the salaries of other job types since most people experience a high standard of living.

On the contrary, I don't think Mr. John Almer Aurelio understands the nursing profession very well. Although it is true that to be a nurse is difficult as you work for your assigned patients tirelessly, the best thing about this line of work is that you can show your tender, loving, and skillful care for others, which comes out naturally.

Alright, what are your feelings about nurses working as call center agents? I have known many nurses who work as call center agents, but it does not make them feel less for as long as they work decent jobs. Whatever your life's work, do it well. The true substance of nursing is about hard work, dedication, motivation, resourceful, honest, determination, and many more.

I felt sorry about the people with inferiority complexes who continue to belittle the nursing profession. Keep in mind, nurses are still in demand overseas. Nurses have a plenty of options these days. They can work in the community, school, hospital, research, military, and many countries.

I have nothing against you Mr. Aurelio since you are entitled to your own opinion. I just wish more people understood the genuine significance of the nursing profession. Let's not be judgmental towards our brothers and sisters who work as call center agents. I believe everybody deserves respect, no matter what their economic, political, health or social status.

5 Tips On How To Defend Yourself From An Abusive Senior Nurse

By Alon Calinao Dy: Working in the hospital or any other health care facilities is not that simple and leisurely. Admit it or not, there are many senior nurses who abuse their powers and authorities towards their junior nurses, and that can really be frustrating for some. 

But before moving further with this article, let’s find out first, what is the meaning of seniority? Seniority means being older of another individual not necessarily by age. For instance, the concept is like this, if I work or stay longer in this establishment before you, then I am your senior. Hence, I have more privilege and power than you. This is all about seniority and this is also present all over. This is the harsh reality of life, but you must deal with it.

Chest Diseases Hospital (formerly known as Kuwait Heart Center), Kuwait

In some instances, a senior nurse wants to prove her superiority over a junior nurse even though it’s not the right thing to do. Sometimes, a newcomer needs to conform to her command to make her feel that she is the “queen” in the nursing station. But of course, you don’t need to play along all these orders if you know it’s wrong. Besides, this does not always apply to every junior nurse who will just sit down and do nothing. What is the point of studying for 4 years in nursing if you can’t construct your own decisions or stand? What is the point of being a nurse if you do not  have a "Say"  in your workplace?

International Medical Center, Jeddah, KSA

Well, here are 5 tips on how to defend yourself from an abusive senior nurse.


1. When a senior nurse tells you to check the vital signs of her patient because she is busy chatting with her friends. 

The first thing to do is to determine the current vital signs of the patient. You must always call back the safety and priority needs of your patient first. Maybe, this is the reason why your senior nurse wants you to closely monitor the patient’s conditions because the patient is unstable. 

However, if all the vital signs are stable, document the results in the patient’s chart and do not report or come back immediately to the nursing station. Have your senior nurse worry for you for a while, so that she will look the results for herself.


2. When a senior nurse asks for a short lunch break, but it takes excessively long.

If a senior nurse asks for a lunch recess, let her make the break. But before she entrusts her responsibilities to you, better be sure you are capable and know her important assignments, so you suffer no problems later on.And when it takes a long time for her to finish her break, don't be a hero. Live with the fact that you can’t handle alone all the patients in the ward. 

Consequently, when your nursing supervisor comes around and looks for your senior nurse, tell your nursing supervisor that you are also looking and waiting for her to come back to the station. Certainly, your senior nurse will do a lot of explanations when she returns.


3. You should know all the nursing works at the station. 

As a nurse, it is extremely important that you know your work, nursing job descriptions, and hospital policies. Just in case a senior nurse fails you in the evaluation, you could challenge her and tell your nursing supervisor or nursing director that you do not deserve the outcome of the evaluation. In this manner, the superiors will investigate and will somehow reevaluate you. If it turns out that you are a competent nurse, it is a big disgrace or a smack in the face of your senior nurse.


4. Always avoid unnecessary arguments with a senior nurse.

As you know that intense arguments can lead to irrational behaviors or negative feelings between you and your senior nurse, avoid that one if possible. It is more adept to stay humble and do only your work in the hospital. Do not gossips with your colleagues about your senior nurse and stay away from any problems. 


5. Do not share all your secrets in life. 

Sharing all your personal present and past experiences can be bad for you. A Senior nurse will only have some minds about you which may lead to misconceptions. Thus, it is better to share your secrets only to those people who know you best. For example, your parents, best friends and close relatives are the most trusted and reliable people that you can share your fears or secrets.

These are just a few points on how to protect yourself from your abusive senior nurse. Nevertheless, if it is possible, avoid any troubles and treat her with love and respect. In return, she will do the same for you.

Why Do More Nurses Work in the Middle East Than in Western Countries?

By Alon Calinao Dy: Nursing profession is one of the most trusted and respected professions in the world. Nurses are angels of the sick who love their jobs and happy if their patients recover from any illnesses or disabilities that unable them to work for their families.

Nurses have dreams, just like any other people who want the best for their loved ones. They want to send their children to good schools, attend the needs of their families, and earn money for the future in times of sickness, financial crisis, and emergency situations.

Nurses know right from wrong, although they might feel guilty for themselves as they leave their families, it is very hard for them to be separated with their loved ones. They have no other options but to work overseas in order to provide the basic needs of their families and have a bright future.

Many nurses are thankful for the wonderful opportunities that Middle East countries entrust them to look after their sick people. Nurses also know that it is simple and easy to enter and work in the Middle East than in Western Countries.

Some qualifications and local employment agencies present more difficulties for nurses to make their dreams come true. For instance, if you are applying as registered nurses in the countries of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and UK, it is required to acquire a band score of 7 in all components (listening, reading, writing, and speaking) in order to be accepted at work.

What if you are born with hearing impairment and speech deficit? Do you think IELTS examiners would still consider your physical conditions, knowing that these are innate deficiencies? In a straightforward manner, can you still achieve your target 7 band score having these genetic deficiencies? And a dream job that you're aiming for?

Every year, think about the time and money nurses spent in their nursing schools just to finish their studies and in hopes they would be able to practice their desired profession and make a big difference to the lives of all people, especially for those who are sick. 

Worse, a nurse sometimes handles an average 70 to 100 patients each day like the example in most government hospitals in the Philippines. 

Nurses can't provide quality care if they are overloaded with work; the people who normally suffer in this case are both patients and nurses. I believe hospitals should encourage nurses to handle only patients within their level of skills not beyond their capabilities so that nurses can attend all the needs of their patients without any pressure that would compromise the patient's health.

In third world countries, even though they have enough manpower of nurses, many hospitals remain understaffed and ill-equipped to respond the needs of the people for quality health care due to lack of government finances. 

What nurses usually do, they move out from their own countries to come up better opportunities overseas because of the growing needs of their families, which I think a bold step forward to achieve their dreams in life.

All I want to say is that let's give them a chance to build a better world regardless of their physical conditions, creed, race, situation, sexual orientation, and origin.

Nurses have a strong desire to work in Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA, and other western countries. As much as they want to settle in these regions, there are numerous fake and abusive employment agencies who are opportunistics, meaning taking selfish advantage of circumstances.

There are no or limited laws that protect nurses from fraud in various countries. Some impostors take the roles of registered nurses using their real names and registration numbers to deceive other people. In this instance, the nurse victims might be accused of something they do not perform.

In the Philippines, for example, the people who are found guilty with the pressing charges pay only a small amount of purse and most of the time they go loose as if they have done nothing wrong. With a lot of frustrations, this leads to nurses to migrate to other countries, particularly in the Middle East and Western nations, where justice systems are fair and not too soft for the lawbreakers.

But it is a heartbreaking reality, nurses can easily reach countries like Oman, Libya, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait, and etc., than in the West because their demands are easy to meet at the deadline. Many nurses also go for the tax-free salary in the Middle East than hectic life in the West. 

Yet, as time goes by, many of them realize that it is better to raise a family, as their children would likely enjoy the social life and priviledges, in Western countries than in the Middle East. As much as nurses want to start all over again, they often think that it is too late for a new change.

Furthermore, in 2020 countries like New Zealand, Australia, US, Canada, and the UK, they need more nurses for their rising population.

The demand for nurses will remain evident in the Western countries in the upcoming years. I understand that competent and qualified nurses are needed in these lands, but if training hospitals are confident enough that they can train nurses well with the necessary skills they need, why do employers require IELTS for the nurses if they can listen, read, write, and talk in English? Do you imagine this is part of business to add expenses for the nurses and delay them from getting the jobs they desire?

It is time for the west to leave their doors wide open. It is time to reach out and help our nurses to find high-paying jobs that they deserve. Nurses take pride in the practice of their profession. They show passion and strong desire to help their patients. They, too, support the reform of the health delivery system and execute great things for their patients.

It is time for nurses to showcase and share their skills and knowledge. Nurses deserve more credit because their work often goes unrecognized. I suppose it is time to raise awareness of  our nurses' contributions. As people need the care of nurses now and then since everyone gets sick, nurses would remain devoted and committed to their nursing profession.

This is also the right moment for all nurses to unite as one and have good careers to help the sick anywhere they want to go; therefore, nurses deserve all the respect, more opportunities, and better pay.

    

Nurses Don't Need IELTS

By Alon Calinao Dy: Nurses worldwide don't need IELTS. English subject has become part of compulsory curriculum since early childhood education. I think nurses don't need to take IELTS exam anymore. Employers should understand the stressful situations of nurses.

It's been years since nurses are expending too much time, effort, and money for this IELTS exam. It's frustrating because if you're going to compare it to nursing qualifying exams, IELTS will be part of your life. Unlike in nursing, once you've passed the test, you're not going to take it again. I think it's better if IELTS would set a passing score just like any other exams. At least, everything is clear.

As you can see the situation now, for instance, in the Philippines, looking for a decent standard of living is very difficult. I mean the salary of ordinary nurses cannot send their children to school. And even those nurses who have high positions in private and government hospitals, they've admitted their salary is not enough for them. Thus, they must work overtime or really hard in order to compensate the needs of their families.


Here are 5 possible reasons why nurses don't need IELTS:

1. Illegal recruiters take advantage of the IELTS.

You have to be very cautious when dealing with illegal recruiters. At the beginning, these people would require you to take IELTS. If they've found out you've not taken the test yet, they would recommend you to some people they know, who make you believe you'd be successful in IELTS . Perhaps, they'd advise a good review center or sell you IELTS materials. The worst part is, they'd take large amounts of money from you and tell you that they personally know the examiner. In this case, you're in big trouble because you'll not get your money back. My best piece of advice, stay away from these kinds of people. Of course, nobody wants to fall into this trap.

2. Taking IELTS is a waste of money, effort, and time.

Nurses are busy as bees. I mean, you've to find enough time preparing for IELTS and at the same time applying nursing jobs abroad. Okay, let's say for example, Canada needs 100 nurses, but you have to meet band score of 7 in all sections. Do you think after you pass the exam you'll get the job that you desire? Do you think your IELTS will not expire because it has only 2 years validity? Think about that. Of course, competition for jobs is high among nurses. So, most probably those who have long experience and ex-abroad nurses are more likely to get a job compared to newly graduate nurses.

3. IELTS is giving too much pressure to nurses.

It's my opinion that learning must be fun without any pressure. Instead of motivating IELTS candidates to prepare well before going for the actual exam, IELTS, seems to me, instills fears in the hearts of examinees. They've set high standards, especially in the speaking part. Just a reminder, we're not native English people. Of course, the way we pronounce a word might be different from the locals, just as the way native English speakers articulate our own language. But we don't laugh at them. Instead, we deeply understand.

4. IELTS is business as usual.

Paying for an IELTS exam is very expensive. As what I have said above, it has an expiration date. This validity period will expire before you're lucky to find a job. After two years, you'll take another IELTS test. It doesn't make sense to me. Why are you going to take the exam if you've already taken it? I smell a rat. I mean, in my point of view, it's not quite right to spend another one's hard-earned money. Therefore, I think it's a moneymaking organization.

5. IELTS doesn't guarantee total success in English.

I believe the best way to learn English is constant practice or exposure to the language. I mean employers from Western countries should give foreign nurses opportunities to work within their regions. In this way, expats will learn the language more easily for they have the chance to interact with good English speakers than sitting the IELTS test. Let's admit, the demand for nurses is going to grow in the coming years. Why don't we help each other? Nurses don't need IELTS exam. I'm sure most nurses around the world will be happy.