[drew_rn]

I am a newly licensed nurse and that is my concern too. after taking the local board exam me, my friends and thousands of nursing graduates do not know what to do next and what awaits them after the result will come out.

We know that Philippines is one of the best sources of nurses in the world because of their professionalism and innate caring kind of nursing care. Filipino nurses are major source of dollar remittances of the country making it a major sources of contributor to the economy of the country. Much has been said about this, yet, so little has been done about support through career counseling, career pathing and career options and opportunities to nursing students, nursing graduates, newly licensed nurses and practicing nurses. It is in this perspective that while we are waiting for the result of the local board exam and retrogression to lift we conceptualized "The 1st Philippine Nursing Opportunities Conference & Expo 2007" - A World Of Opportunity Awaits the Filipino Nurse

The 1st Philippine Nursing Opportunities Conference & Expo 2007 will be held on September 28-30, 2007 at Megatrade Hall 2, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City.

[naptime]

It's not just nurses in particular who are suffering from very poor salaries. All healthcare professionals are feeling the crunch with the high cost of living and low salaries (Manila). But what do you get from a government that only allots 25 centavos per citizen per year on healthcare... Yes... 25 centavos... I remember seeing that on posters on the walls of a University of the Philippines canteen (that was in 1992..yikes, i'm old). The middle class and the rich pay their own medical bills because health insurance is useless and the poor have only the option of going home and pray they're going to get better.

[Barbie38]

Nursing course in the Philippines has truly boomed because of the word..."immigration"...secondly...due to the word.."Fast job hiring"...still abroad..
Although this is not the immigration related one..like Saudi Arabia , still it has to do with fast employment in incomes higher than the 6,000 pesos a month that we receive in the Philippines.
What do we have to do to make things better? well...I could only think of one......proceed to Medicine..just joking.
I think that we could make hospitalization fun and not traumatic at all.. if we.., give our cheerful , full of enthusiatic interest and extra ordinary care for our clients..by then..we might be recognized worldwide , not in the Guiness World but by countries in dire need of nurses..like Australia, U.S., New Zealand, Canada and British Islands. And hey, they might just want no other nationality but Filipina nurses in the future.
Have you heard that Indians do better in other parts of the world in terms of Patient care??? oh what a slap to us..sweet, caring and truly passionate Filipina nurses.
Let us make it a point that we spread smiles and true concerns for our hospitalized patients...
we have a lot of nurses here who don't even know the meaning of the word SMILe and has an everlasting creed of wordsthat seem inexpicably vexed by patients in the whole shift. (more on age brackets of the nurses)
while we wait for our prayers to be answered..."Lord..please lift the visa cap for nurses..and make retrogression disappear forever??? or prayers like Lord...help me pass an all seven band in IELTS" Let us be known to the whole world slowly that Philippine nursing is not just for money....

[Barbie38]

Just a follow up..Philippines is now preparing for a pilot of nurses to FINLAND>>>> yes folks...you read it right...What could be next?? Switzerland? or maybe Africa ...so nurses...let us all be proud while walking down the corridors of the hospitals...Lets make a difference. If doctors don't smile or don't even acknowledge the greetings of the clients...oh well..swerve their smiles on us...and make their day stay in the hospital as pleasant as it could be......
JUst do it girl...

[honeylet_1710]

Originally Posted by Barbie38

Just a follow up..Philippines is now preparing for a pilot of nurses to FINLAND>>>> yes folks...you read it right...What could be next?? Switzerland? or maybe Africa ...so nurses...let us all be proud while walking down the corridors of the hospitals...Lets make a difference. If doctors don't smile or don't even acknowledge the greetings of the clients...oh well..swerve their smiles on us...and make their day stay in the hospital as pleasant as it could be......
JUst do it girl...

Hi what are the requirements to Finland and how to apply? Thank you

[oneproudigorot]

I think one of the ways to make things better for philippine nurses is to lobby for better wages. Picture this, a nurse fresh from school will only earn 5,000 pesos (est. 100 US dollars) a month. That is also how much a janitor will eran in a month. That is just degrading and insulting for these young nurses. Of course they have no choice and the only solution to that is to really go abroad...

[AstonishiaInlimbo]

Sometime ago, I read about an anecdote by Jose Rizal. There were these two children who approached a philosopher named Tasio. One of the kids secretly held a bird on his hand. The children wanted to test the old man's wit and wisdom, so they made him guess whether the bird was alive or dead. Tasio thought about it....if he will say that the bird is dead, the kid will let go of the bird freely, but if Tasio will say that it's alive, the kid will crush the bird to death. But the philosopher was wise, and he said, "The answer is in your hands."

In our country and culture, it's hard to get the support of the government, or even each other. It is hard to group people and get organized. It is even harder when people are so wrapped up with one-upsmanship and selfishness. The Filipino nursing world heavily depends on individual nurses to make it better, or break it. That said, the only thing I can suggest that may create a huge change is to start from within. Simple things like going to work on time, voting wisely on elections, treating patients with dignity and care, treating fellow nurses, aides, other members of the health care team, and even student nurses right, etc. may be so simple...but if every nurse do these simple things it will make a difference. Also, discipline, respect, honesty, industry, humbleness, and other values taught to us in grade school or by our parents...we should uphold these as we wear our uniforms and carry our licenses.

I'm thankful for having Ms. Suzanne start this thread, yet I am also embarrassed...If we really want to ease things up in our country, our own nurses should be the ones initiating such a brainstorm activity...

[GSG9ers]

I've been reading this thread and yes i agree with you guys when you said that there should be training on all current nurses in our local hospitals. Yes its true that a thousand voice would really make a difference and make us all heard. I dont want to sound like an ungreatful filipino but we cant deny the fact that our country is getting poor each year. Do you think with the kind of government we have right now that this suggestions and out cries would be heard?. . . Not only the nursing industry is suffering but all of the filipinos.
Let me tell you one instance where our lovely president gave a 1 billion budget for the military to crush the rebels on the north and south of the country when she could have just given it to our health department instead. Everyday when i go on my duty i see pain and suffering among the filipino people. One patient was required to undergo a CT scan but unfortunately the government hospital that i was on couldnt have it done since the machine was down. . . You see with that money, it could have gone a long way and saved alot of lives instead of taking lives.

[nieruth]

The problem with Philippines today is the LACK of hospitals. There are 600,000 Registered Nurses who are jobless due to lack of hospital Vacancy.. Where can we, fresh graduates be able to have working experience if anywhere in the Philippines we go, there's a sign that says NO VACANCY..

[cosmosbgirl]

i just passed the local board and havent registered with pna yet. rest assured, i will register. it's good seeing people show concern over our situation here in the phil. i wish i knew how the pna worked. hehe. i think they're the organization that could best address or jumpstart this concern. it will have to start from the individual members, then the top officers, then lobby all the way to the higher powers-- the gov i think. i, for one, have no clue what the pna is doing, or if they are doing something. this outcry has been there for years, they by now should know what issues to address.
include me in the list of those who blame the government. that's why most of us see no hope and would jump at the first opportunity to go abroad.
the reality now is that the bulk of newly registered nurses are finding other means to earn more, the immediate best option are call centers. yes, i for one am thinking of working in a call center. im sorry.
my advice to those who plan on taking nursing, if your heart's not in it, don't bother taking it.