Almost every parent hoped their son or daughter will finish up Nursing during my time and I think it continues on to the present. It is because of the promise of working abroad. The demand for nurses really perked up a few years back. I guess it was always the issue of searching for greener pastures. The promise of working abroad and earning a lot of money stirred up the ideas of most parents; believing that their son/daughter can fly to US and earn dollars after graduating and passing the Boards. I hope that was the real case...
After I earned the title BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing), it was time to review for the Nursing Board Exam. I remembered reviewing for almost a year (I really wanted to have a place on the top 10). I also remembered the efforts of the various review centers; trying to lure as many students as possible. Nursing students are really a good source of money.
So there it was, around 2-3 months of non-stop review and it's off to the board exams. All of the examinees are really aiming to pass the boards in any way possible. I was confident back then. I knew I was going to pass and I was also hoping to pass it with flying colors. The excitement of the boards began to ease out after the exam.
While anticipating for the results, a lot of my friends entered the Call Center industry. After a few months, the results were out, passers had their oath-taking, and we were made to think that we were closer to our goals of going to the promised lands. I immediately took the chance of applying for a nursing job in every hospital (both private and public hospitals).
It was one of the requirements that new board passers must have necessary trainings such as Intravenous insertion, Basic Life Support and the like to be able to be accepted as a nurse in any hospital.
I enrolled in all the trainings required and even had my seminars so that my resume would stand out amongst all job competitors. My efforts on applying in hospitals and clinics continued on even after I got a job from a Review and Training Center for Nurses.
I really liked to live my career as a Nurse in a hospital; caring for patients, but I was financially challenged. I couldn't afford working as a volunteer with less or no pay at all or worst having my training in hospitals and paying for the training with no guarantee of being one of its staffs.
Those were the current situations of newly nursing graduates or board passers here in the Philippines. Wherever I go, the policy is the same: you got to be a volunteer with or without pay or pay a certain amount for on-the-job trainings. If you'll take into consideration on the prices that these hospitals are charging Nurses, you'll also think that it is just a way to earn money out of the poor Nurse's pockets. Regular training costs at around 1000 Philippine peso a month.
Special areas and other well-known hospitals even charge at around 8000-15000 pesos. Do you think that's even fair for new Nurses, whom only depend unto their parents?
What would become of those unfortunate nurses who are unable to have the money necessary for training? This is what had happened to me...
After around a year of applying in various health institutions, I grew weary. I searched for other ways of preserving my knowledge of Nursing aside from trainings and seminars. Another pathway unto the Nursing career is continuing on in Nursing Education. I decided to have my Masters degree without having any clinical experience.
I did this while I am working for a private company on a medical account. Having a Master's degree offered a chance to be employed in a more promising job in Nursing: that is to be a Nursing lecturer or a Clinical Instructor either in the community or the hospital. I am actually doing this for a year now; working in a non-Nursing office while studying for Masters.
Another pathway is having all the exams necessary for landing job abroad. I am also planning to have those exams: IELTS, NCLEX, CGFNS and the like when I already have enough money. It seems to be a promising way to escape the fate of nurses here in the Philippines: to go abroad.
The only problem with applying for a job abroad is that it also requires clinical experience as a staff nurse. I remembered some of my friends being a volunteer for almost a year without pay or having an allowance of just around 50 pesos per day! Because of what is happening, I'm beginning to realize that Nursing is a profession made for rich people who can afford to supply an endless pool of money over trainings and seminars. I'm glad that the Philippine government is implementing some ways of giving a solution on the increasing rate of unemployment in Nursing.
Just last year, the NARS program was made to give nurses a chance to have their experiences for 6 months. Such a good opportunity for nurses, but I think it is not sufficient for answering the problems of unemployment. Nurses continue on having a really tough time here in the Philippines and I'm sure it'll continue on for a few years more as more student Nurses are planning to add on the Nursing population explosion.
Nursing unemployment is really a grave problem these days here in the Philippines. And I think hospitals are taking advantage of new nurses, making them pay for overpricing training fees or offering them a job without pay. I'm really saddened by the way nurses are treated here in the Philippines.
I really hope the newly elected officers of the country would try on considering more possible solutions for this problem. Fellow nurses are now petitioning for free on-the-job trainings for nurses which are to be considered as clinical experience.
Up to this very day, I'm still not losing my grip. I'm still hopeful that I could land a job in a hospital or any health institution, passing my resume to every health institution I can find. I am doing this for the last two years and still hoping...
