Importing nurses from the Phillipines

Nurses Activism

Published

My hospital is working on getting nurses from the Phillipines to fill some of our needs. We have been in the paper process for almost a year and now it looks like we actually will be getting some of these nurses in the next few months. Has anyone else gone this route? What were your challenges and surprizes. What did you discover you worried about needlessly?

I have great respect for Phillipino nurses. They tend to be excellent as far as following policy and procedures to the letter and knowing what the "rules" are. However, I have found, in my 10-plus years of nursing, that they tend (not EVERY Phillipino nurse mind you) to be obedient, compliant, passive nurses. It seems hard for them to "think outside the box" and problem solve or be creative. However, it can be very frustrating for American nurses who are assertive and like to be heard!!

My hospital is actively recruiting there. I would like to hear from a Phillipino nurse how they feel about the $15/hr salary offer - when American nurses are faring better - new grads, no less.

This angers me that this hiring practice will keep ALL of our salaries down.

I think most nurses do not understand the history of what has happened to nurses in the last 35 years in this country.

Most nurses are NOT against working with others from different countries, BUT, they are against allowing hospitals to constantly use the excuse of poor staffing to open the doors for immigration nursing to exist. Poor staffing is the creation of hospitals to allow deplorable working conditions, suppression of nursing autonomy/voice, compression of nursing salaries, stripping of nursing benefits.

Any time you allow a large influx of foreign workers into any profession the above occurs. Hospitals are only looking at their own bottom lines, they obviously do NOT care 1 fig about their nurses or they would have fixed these problems decades ago.

They are busy lobbying, spending huge monies, to change existing laws but too cheap to pay nurses what they are truly worth, however, they certainly pay themselves (CEOS, upper managements).

Maybe it is time for nurses to form corporations like MDs do and leave working for hospitals. Sell our services back to the hospitals. Why should hospitals be permitted any more to have nurses directly working for THEM after all the abuse we have suffered.

I am sure this cannot happen overnight but it is a thought. Already many ERs, smaller specialy units like OB have done just this.

Apols_UK,

I am a Filipina and a mature nursing student at a university in the UK.

You should be ashamed of the postings which you are placing.They are not answering the original quite reasonable request for information about our nurses,but merely levelling unjustified and ridiculous criticism of others.Not helpful at all.

Apols. Your own English is so excrutiatingly bad that it completely beggars belief as so how you dare criticise that of Florry.It is barely recognisable as Enlisyh.Don't you understand? Florry is a Norwegian! In Norway!(Note the use of capitals Apols -you don't seem to know about them) She does not have to be able to understand English to work in her own country,but like most Norwegians and other Europeans she does.Her English is much better than yours. Have you done nothing to try to improve it while in the UK.

I can hardly believe you have attended a British University.How on earth did you manage to write your assignments? For that matter how did you gain entry? At my university you would fail your first assignment on grammar alone,but on this site you have also demonstrated that you cannot read a question and answer it correctly. In the UK you cannot bribe your professor to give you a pass, as we can back home in the Philippines.I would like to see a copy of your thesis. What is the subject? A Masters? who are you kidding.So why are you just a senior staff nurse? That is what I will be within 1 year of getting my RN. Why are you not a senior manager? I think that you are suffering from an inferiority complex.You have wasted your time in the UK when you should have been taking advantage of what one of the greatest countries in the world has to offer you.

Now back to the original question posed by Gardengal.

It is only a few short months since you US started allowing the recruitment of Philippine nurses,after a ban on them for years. That is driven by severe shortage of nurses,which in the US, as in other advanced countries,has in itself been brought on by low pay and conditions compared to other professions.This means that nurses are sought from poorer countries(like mine) even though standards may be lower.Further education 'on the job' prior to registration is often needed.In the UK there are many Philippine-qualified nurses who are working as auxilliaries or carers because they have not been able to satisfy the requirement for RN. Some 85% of filipinos are employed in nursing homes,not hospitals.

Training of nurses in the Philippines is almost entirely in the hands of of private education facilities in it for the money.That is why the UK only recognises degrees from University of the Philippines(UP) for anything, not just nursing.The Philippines is one big diploma mill. What you can't pass you can buy.That is why there are state boards for every profession.For nursing there is no limit to the number of times you can sit the state board exam as long as you have the fee!Most students have to attend 'review centres'(cram schools) to get them up to scratch.Teaching in nurse schools is by rote, 'parrot fashion'.

Your course books will be listed by the school and you buy them. They are all you need.As long as you pay your course fees you will pass.The exams are so easy.Like everywhere, some students are brilliant,some are good and some poor.We have hundreds of colleges giving degrees.I have mine,but in the UK I had to study for an additional 3 years just to get up to their standard to enter University.The difference is that when I have finished I will have a qualification known and recognised throughout the world,not one which can be bought on any street corner in Manila!

Yes we do have some good nurses,especially the bright well-educated ones who have already worked for a while in other countries,and whose minds are open to new ideas.However,be warned. Nurses in the Philippines are still doctor's little helpers.As there is only one western standard hospital in the whole country, experience is lacking.Concepts such as the Nursing Process, Care pathways, reflective thinking,continuing education,research, and anything nurse-led are unknown. I never heard of Harvard Referencing until I came here.

In the Philippines,if you have money and are sick,you catch the next plane out to a proper facility.If you are poor,hospital is a last choice.(and often a final one!!!)

So there you have it folks.We have good and bad .Try to get the good, but remember the English (and American) saying,'the proof of the pudding is in the eating'!

All punctuation present and correct Apols?

This,by the way is the real Queens English. It is not hard to learn, but you can carry on with your Taglish.

Many nurses choose to spend their entire careers at the bedside & have no interest in being a manager. Its like comparing apples & oranges. They are entirely different lines of work. The only similarity is that both have a nursing degree. It doesnt mean the nurse who chooses not to be a manager is inferior.

Specializes in Psych.

I live in San Francisco and I work with nurses from all over the world (including the Phillipines). I love it! I have worked in US facilities that were mostly Filipino and hated it because I did not understand the language or the culture. Now, I am not saying I hate Filipinos, I am saying that if I wanted to be immersed in the culture, then I'd move to the Phillipines. In my opinion, the US nursing problem is not with the foreign nurses, but with domestic nurses who are not working for change. Let's not play the blame game. It is but another dysfunctional behavior that keeps us divided.

Hopefully, I will be moving from the US to London in the spring. I am very excited about living and working in another country. For me it's all about the experience. I am sure it won't be easy, but I know the experience will be a positive one. I am sure there will be English nurses and patients who will not like me and will make generalizations about me based on my country of birth (US). I am sure there will be language problems too as I can have a real hard time with Cockney, Scottish and Welsh accents. In the end, my practice will benefit and so will I.

Hi there. Just registered today and was able to read what Florry has written about Filipino nurses. I don't want to brag about what I have achieved in 3 1/2 years working in the UK. But since the situation calls for it...well, I am a charge nurse working in a haematology/oncology ward for more than a year now. I have completed my ENB 998, ENB 237, a 2 month certificate in Palliative care. I have acted as assessor/mentor/preceptor to students and newly registered nurses. They all came from different countries, that includes Bristish nationals as well.

I used to hold the positions: charge nurse, infection control nurse, and quality control nurse prior to arriving in England March 1999.

Now tell me Florry, English is not my native language. I am FILIPINO, am proud of it. Haven't got much of an experience (only 10 years compared to you which is 25). I think before you comment about something, just think about it because you'll never know what people might think of you...just like the way you write. You don't spell properly, your English is quite appalling for someone claiming to be a teacher/specialist, working for 25 years in the UK?

I am just an example of how "bad" Filipinos work and how "bad" we speak the English language.

Franz

:)

They all came from different countries, that includes Bristish nationals as well.

SORRY, I SPELT BRITISH AS BRISTISH.

Hi -jt,

I agree with you, but you misunderstood me because you would not know how the UK nursing is organised.(but not for long because it is all being changed again).The person that remark was made to is in the UK and was bragging about having a Masters Degree,while criticising others.I don't believe him/her.

I know that a Masters is common in the USA, but here it is not so.there are no 'taught' Masters for nursing,just guided research.

I have never heard of an 'ordinary' nurse in the UK having a masters degree.That would be for an academic or a senior manager. Maybe a nurse researcher, or educator, but most of those do not either.It is so hard, and there are only a few in the whole country.

As I said before, nursing degrees only started here a few years ago, whereas in the USA I read that it was just after WW2. These days one can study for a diploma or a degree. They are both national standards. If you pass either, you are entitled to registration.There is no other exam. The only difference will be the letters after your RN.

Chigap,

You will get on fine in the UK you will not find any anti -American discrimination here,especially in the workplace.Its illegal-and enforced.

I love it here,and I love visiting nearby countries.No one ever discriminated against me or ever made any racially offensive remark to me.I know many other Filipinos here who tell me the same. Everyone is friendly and unlike in our country WE ARE FREE.

Gomer

What are you talking about the US paying $20,000 for British nurses?

In the UK all nurse training is totally free.It is paid for by the British taxpayer.Not only that, there are thousands of foreign nurses getting free training here,as it has been for many years..

I am one of them,but I will be staying here as it is now my home.

Student nurses get maintenance allowances free medical cover etc. They can work if they like,and many do. They can also have their families with them.

The UK is also desperately short of nurses,worse than the US. The capital,London has a 40% shortfall.Why steal from here?

Not only will the British tax payer lose out,but the UK will be short of yet another nurse.

Another thing.British citizens don't need a visa to enter the USA.

They can just buy a ticket and go, then stay as long as they like.

They don't need or want a green card to work there, just a work permit,which for a uk nurse is vitually immediate.Thats the same for citizens of every west European country.

Hi enlightened03.

For your info. Florry is a Norwegian in Norway not the UK, and she was not criticising Filipino nurses,just giving her opinion,which unlike back in the Philippines,she is perfectly entitled to.Considering that, her English is good.How is your Norwegian?(One of the oldest languages in the world, and which has contributed much to English- the Viking invasion!!)

You said that English is not your native language.That's true,but what is? I bet it is not the same as mine! Because the Philippines does not have one .It has tried to push Tagalog, the tribal language.

Filipino.What makes you proud?Our nation is made up of a bunch islands forced together by foreigners, first the Spanish,then the Americans. Since independence in 1948 we have been fighting among ourselves.The same rich clique are always on top in the government. What are we known for? Abject poverty of the masses,total official corruption,religeous bigotry, and of course being the biggest exporter of cheap labour in the history of the world.

As for the PNA in the USA, just Manila trying to control still.

Stay out of my life

My understanding is that any nurse trained outside of the US must take a proficiency exam in order to be allowed to practice here in any capacity and call themselves RNs. This is part of the "red tape" one hears so much about. Nurses in Russia who wish to come here and practice must first travel to Europe (Prague?) to take this exam. As this is a hardship for most, few of us have had the pleasure of working with a Russian collegue.Russia, Iraq, Phillipines are places where alot of hardship exsists.Those that immigrate from there to here are individuals that have the means,whether that is financial or chutzpah or something else. My experience is that educated people often find the means. English is an educational reguiement in the Phillipines. If your homeland was such a difficult place to exsist and you felt you needed to leave to go to a place where the culture was different and people didnt like you or were suspicious of your accent, looks, etc. how would you deal with that? I say it takes a strong person to follow through with what is clearly a grueling ordeal in a attempt for a better life for them and theirs. I knew a nurse from the Phollipines who left behind 3 children under 10 to come here and WORK- her husband was here too, He was a pharmacist. I just want to say god bless em

apol-UK Here in the United States of California we would welcome you. It's even foggy today.

Hi Psychnurse,

Not quite right.

What people from many countries have to do is first find a US facility that is willing to employ them based on an application made from their home or wherever they are.It may be in answer to an advertisement.If the employer wants you,it is up to them to get you a work permit, and they will normally get you there as well. On arrival in the US you will have to work as an auxilliary until you can pass your state board,or in the case of some states and nurses from a few countries,be exempted.

Very recently, due to the nursing shortage,the US has been setting up several examination centres in areas it hopes to recruit from. One new one will be London. Very convenient for all the foreign nurses working there.

The US,like most countries,does not just allow people to wander around looking for a job.(Unless they are from western Europe)

If Russian nurses are wanted,you can bet your bottom dollar the big US nurse agencies would be advertising there and arranging everything,just as they do for Filipinos.

The snags are,few Russian nurses speak English.

Russia still does not just allow people to leave the country when they feel like it.Otherwise they would have already been working all over Europe.The US is not encouraging Russians either.

+ Add a Comment