the american dream: do not lose hope

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there are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of posts here pertaining to the current immigration and economic situation of the us. in addition, the situation is also being played out in the media all over the world (i would think). with all of these information out there, i think most, if not all, foreign nurses are already aware of the sad realities of wanting to work in the us.

i got the following lines from the novel the alchemist by paulo coelho:

"... the soul of the world is nourished by people's happiness... to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation...

and, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

so, to all my fellow pinoy rns out there who are still dreaming of one day being able to work in the us as a registered nurse, don't lose hope. do not be discouraged. you will meet a lot of people who get pleasure from splashing water over the smallest ember of hope that you may have. but, no one could/should ever tell you that your dreams are beyond your reach.

in my opinion, we are all brothers/sisters in the world of nursing and we should be benevolent enough to welcome and help our colleagues on their way in as we, ourselves, may be on our way out.

ignis fraternum eterna est

(the flames of our brotherhood will burn forever)

Let me just share my opinion regarding this...

We do appreciate all of the experts here who would just want to present the sad facts and realities regarding this so called "american dream". We know that you are just concerned for our welfare and we thank you for that.

But it is nobody's right to deprive others of hope. Present the facts as you like it and leave it at that. Let the pinoy RNs use all the informations you shared and let us make a decision for ourselves on what dreams to pursue or not to pursue. Our dreams is not for you to take and dictate.

Because of all the things you shared,we are now aware of the situation in US right now BUT that doesn't stop us from having even just a little amount of hope....

No one here is depriving anyone of hope. How in the world could we be doing that if we do not even know you first of all?

But we are trying to get nurses there to open their eyes to what is actually happening in the world and not think that everything revolves around them and their getting to the US or whereever.

There is not one country on this entire planet that has unlimited visas for nurses, every single one of them has a limit as to how many visas that they will issue per year.

If you wish to continue on with your hope, knowing that nothing is going to come of it literally for years and then only a chance. Be my guest, that is your decision. But when there are already over a half million unemployed nurses in the Philippines and when you factor in that spouses and children are counted with the just under 10,000 visas per year and for other professions as well, then you do the math. Let's say that there are 3,000 visas for the actual RN per year, and that is on the high side; how long will it take for 30,000 to get to the US and perhaps then you will get the idea.

It does not matter what you think or what an employer told you or even a relative, the issue is that there are not any visas as a start and the US economy is tanking, CA has the third highest unemployment rate in the US and an American must get offered the job first.

Read what others here have posted and including those from the Philippines that have been in the US for a long time and see what is happening.

You need to be realistic; but that is your choice if you wish to do that or live in a dream world that is just not going to happen. Remember that even when there are visas around, you can train an American to work as an RN here in less time than it usually takes one to get thru the immigration process as well.

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I have to submit my resume annually to my school, I also have showed all my certifications. I have to take compentcy and skill tests at the hospitals I am going to. When I accept an assignment for my students ( 8 in total) I have make sure all the meds, treatments, IVs, documentation are completed, there is no way for a new nurse to complete this. I often illustate a point by sharing my patients care stories, I have to correct the students plans of care. The would be impossible. I was orienting a new instructor with 3 years of experience, my students complained she didn't know as much as I did. ANy the college had to apply for a waiver since she did not meet all the instructors requirements.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

Hope. Definitions of "hope" that apply in this situation are as follows:

Noun

  1. the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best: to give up hope.
  2. grounds for this feeling in a particular instance: There is little or no hope of his recovery.
  3. a person or thing in which expectations are centered: The medicine was her last hope.

Verb

  1. to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence.
  2. to believe, desire, or trust: I hope that my work will be satisfactory.
  3. to feel that something desired may happen: We hope for an early spring.

(From Dictionary.com)

What do people say about this kind of hope? (Emphasis is mine.)

"Hope doesn't come from calculating whether the good news is winning out over the bad. It's simply a choice to take action." Anna Lappe

"He that lives upon hope will die fasting." Benjamin Franklin

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." Epicurus

"It is superstitious to put one's hopes in formalities, but arrogant to refuse to submit to them." Blaise Paschal

"Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes, but no plans." Peter Drucker

"If our thought and hopes are elsewhere, it is impossible to set our faces steadily toward the work ahead of us." Anonymous

"Hope is the worst of evils for it prolongs the torments of man." Frederick Nietsche

"Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work." Rita Mae Brown

"I still believe in hope, because there's no such place as Fingers Crossed, Arkansas." Molly Ivins

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Please have a good read on this thread and it is more proof of what we have been talking about here and written documentation of what we have been stating.

Things are bad in the US, does not matter what ones dreams are; they do not matter at this time.

https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/layoffs-350114.html

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No one here is depriving anyone of hope. How in the world could we be doing that if we do not even know you first of all?

But we are trying to get nurses there to open their eyes to what is actually happening in the world and not think that everything revolves around them and their getting to the US or whereever.

There is not one country on this entire planet that has unlimited visas for nurses, every single one of them has a limit as to how many visas that they will issue per year.

If you wish to continue on with your hope, knowing that nothing is going to come of it literally for years and then only a chance. Be my guest, that is your decision. But when there are already over a half million unemployed nurses in the Philippines and when you factor in that spouses and children are counted with the just under 10,000 visas per year and for other professions as well, then you do the math. Let's say that there are 3,000 visas for the actual RN per year, and that is on the high side; how long will it take for 30,000 to get to the US and perhaps then you will get the idea.

It does not matter what you think or what an employer told you or even a relative, the issue is that there are not any visas as a start and the US economy is tanking, CA has the third highest unemployment rate in the US and an American must get offered the job first.

Read what others here have posted and including those from the Philippines that have been in the US for a long time and see what is happening.

You need to be realistic; but that is your choice if you wish to do that or live in a dream world that is just not going to happen. Remember that even when there are visas around, you can train an American to work as an RN here in less time than it usually takes one to get thru the immigration process as well.

Yes,we are not daydreaming suzanne. we took everything you said here into consideration.we are not blind when we decided to pursue this dream.we do not expect to go there in 5-8 years or so because that would be impossible...Its really more like a long term goal that someday we will work there..

And when we say that we want to pursue this dream,it doesnt mean that our world is centered only here.We go on with our lives at the present and try to find jobs here in our own country. its not like we are waiting here blindly for that American dream.

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Specializes in this and that.

when i went to recent vacation in philippines ... i found out that not only is every other citizen studying to be a nurse....all the bumper sticker in jeepneys, tricycles , cabs say "My wife is a nurse" or "BSN" stickies everywhere....as i said everybody is a second courser from doctors, bank tellers, dentists, etc. There are a lot of Come and Go bootleg nursing schools that opened and closed..nursing students not only pay cash under the table /buy gifts/snacks/invite family party events not only to instructors to complete school requirements but also pay the OR /labor and delivery room nurses who promises surgical patients to students who comes up with SERIOUS CASH ( a bit like casino ) be provided with a 'PATIENT" FIRST or suffer the risk to be disqualified from semester because of the stiff competition between the regular 4 year students vs the second courser.

.where else of a country can you find that?...

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I am no way of referring to the US as a dying. Americans are strong, my parents lived through WW1 and WW2, they dated during the depression, they saw Americans land on the moon. My dad was an immigrant, he was very proud to be an American and always put America first. He spent every dollar he made in the USA and he always very proud of his heritage but lived his life as American first.

What I am referring to is the Fact there are 400,000 Philippine RN and another 800,000 in nursing school. At best of times there are limited VISAs granted. So 1,000,000 nurses competing 10,000 chances to enter the USA and that includes all professions. That is 1% chance under the best scenario to enter the USA. If I was selling any product any told you it would work, yet I knew that it only worked for 1% of the people you would call me a fraud. Yet that is the situation going on where everyone thinks that are going to be this 1% or probably less, without making other plans, that is being foolish.

America will be strong, I have no doubt about this. We will recover be strong! The terminal situation is the fact the million plus nurses who are dreaming the American Dream with no visas and very limited jobs. The terminal situation is that for 99% of the nurses their is no American dream.

Not all Philippine RNs would go to the US. You wish. :nono:

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Yes,we are not daydreaming suzanne. we took everything you said here into consideration.we are not blind when we decided to pursue this dream.we do not expect to go there in 5-8 years or so because that would be impossible...Its really more like a long term goal that someday we will work there..

And when we say that we want to pursue this dream,it doesnt mean that our world is centered only here.We go on with our lives at the present and try to find jobs here in our own country. its not like we are waiting here blindly for that American dream.

Maybe not all but when we see people post on using tourist visa to try and jump the queue to me means that they are not prepared to wait. When we see people not wanting to take NLE because a lot of states don't require it then how are they going to keep up to date and gain experience whilst waiting the x amount of years for a visa.

As long as members are informed and understand then I have no problems whilst they wait for their visas but they are foolish not to gain working nurse experience and enhance their abilities whilst waiting

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Specializes in this and that.
Not all Philippine RNs would go to the US. You wish. :nono:

your wish...not our wish....

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Specializes in Acute Psych.
when i went to recent vacation in philippines ...

.where else of a country can you find that?...

we are aware of the less-than-ideal situation of the nursing field in our country. there is not one system/curriculum in the entire world that is perfect.

i hope you can just give the information as it is and avoid giving remarks/comments with a tone of condescension.

i find it amazing that there are people who find it so easy to look down upon and mock their fellow men and yet still have the tenacity to wake up in the morning and ask/pray for more blessings from the Lord.

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when i went to recent vacation in philippines ... i found out that not only is every other citizen studying to be a nurse....all the bumper sticker in jeepneys, tricycles , cabs say "My wife is a nurse" or "BSN" stickies everywhere....as i said everybody is a second courser from doctors, bank tellers, dentists, etc. There are a lot of Come and Go bootleg nursing schools that opened and closed..nursing students not only pay cash under the table /buy gifts/snacks/invite family party events not only to instructors to complete school requirements but also pay the OR /labor and delivery room nurses who promises surgical patients to students who comes up with SERIOUS CASH ( a bit like casino ) be provided with a 'PATIENT" FIRST or suffer the risk to be disqualified from semester because of the stiff competition between the regular 4 year students vs the second courser.

.where else of a country can you find that?...

Yes,things like that exist in our country and believe me that there are still Filipinos who are against those things....BUT i hope you also take into consideration that there are still thousands of us Filipino nurses who earned our degree the right way,who got our licenses without paying someone under the table,who got our education in good reputable schools..So i hope you wont come into conclusions like that just because you learned some little information about us. IT DOES NOT APPLY TO ALL.Maybe you should also consider that although theres an increase in the number of nursing students,there are still thousands who chose a non-nursing course. AGAIN,it is wrong to generalize that every citizen here wants to be nurse. A lot of my friends chose to be engineers, architects, teachers and accountants .I HOPE THAT WE SHOULD JUST STOP WITH ALL THESE GENERAL CONCLUSIONS BECAUSE WE DO NOT KNOW EVERYTHING...

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Maybe not all but when we see people post on using tourist visa to try and jump the queue to me means that they are not prepared to wait. When we see people not wanting to take NLE because a lot of states don't require it then how are they going to keep up to date and gain experience whilst waiting the x amount of years for a visa.

As long as members are informed and understand then I have no problems whilst they wait for their visas but they are foolish not to gain working nurse experience and enhance their abilities whilst waiting

Yes,exactly..NOT ALL..Not all of us Filipinos who dream of America are in a rush. Believe me,there are really still Filipino nurses who want to hone our skills,who want to be confident with our fields before we actually work there in US. We do not want cases of malpractice or have our licenses revoked . I fear that thing to happen.

So it just pains me to read when people try to discourage right away our american dream where in fact not all of us here are wanting to go out that quick. We are willing to wait for yearsssssss ..And while waiting,we will be working on our skills elsewhere .So it is still not a big loss for us.

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