Making things better for nurses in the Philippines

[suzanne4]

Since we are all aware that there is a retrogression in place, and that it will be sometime before many of you will get to the US, lets come up with ways that can make things better for you working in your country.

What do you think could be done to make things better? What if you were creating your own facility, what would you like to see done? Or not done?

What work conditions would make things better for you? What do you think that you could be instrumental in getting changed?

This is actually how we do things in the US and get to best practice status? Why should it not work where you are now?

[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, BSN, RN]

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, MSN, RN]

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]

:redpinkhe 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...

:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe:redpinkhe

[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.

[baby dal]

I think it is a dream of every Filipino nurses working abroad to work and live with their family back home. To serve and heal your own countrymen will be the utmost job satisfaction one could ever have as a professional nurse. It will be a very long way to reshape this trend of professional nursing in the Philippines. I hope if we start this cry of change the next generation of nurses will uphold and continue these ideals.:redbeathe:heartbeat:redpinkhe:nurse:

[miss_cy]

i notice that filipinos loves to use words like ... countrymen, serve the people, serve my country and all that "political sound - like" words...

our president really influences us that much eh??:chuckle

discipline, unity and knowing our OWN identity (not trying to be like someone else) will lead us all to success

[ulyza]

though there is a "stereotype" on reasons why filipinos take up nursing -which is to work abroad some still prefer to stay in the philippines. but before judging those who went outside the country we must put our selves on that persons slipper.

there are lot's of issues why filipino nurses want to go out of the p.i.. is it just only because of the "higher income" they'll have being in other countries??

as nurses we are taught to do assessment first,that could be applied in this situation. ask them where are their parents at?most would answer the country where they plan to go. therefore, besides from intentions of having higher income, there is much deeper reason why. it's because he/she wants to be with his parents or relative or loved ones.

though this my not be the topic i just take the opportunity to express my thoughts regarding that matter.

anyway, my own opinion on how can nursing/health care system in the philippines become better**** there are a lot of nursing school in the country that offers nursing course and lots of filipino are taking up nursing course believing they could go to other countries in just a snap!:nono: because of that,some doesn't take their studies seriously. phil. nle passing result shows proof on this. thinking nursing not just a passport but as a visa to go to us and other countries.

this is what to be change! the government especially the secretary of education should be more keen in approving colleges and universities with nursing course. if possible, they should limit number of nursing students allowed to study in a particular school. you know why? i'm a batch 2007 graduate and most of my batch mates are unemployed. why again? most hospitals are freeze hiring. then why not give your service for free? believe it or not i tried asking some if they want volunteers and they know i'm a registered nurse,their answer was no!!!why??!! i don't know!!!they are very unhesitant to deny an unconditional offer without even asking for my credentials etc.etc..applying as volunteer is even harder than applying for a job??!!i can't believe it!

nursing wage is really low. but there are lots of different cases in hospitals in the philippines. if the main purpose is to master nursing skills, philippines is the place. most of patients here are very cooperative.

the salary of nurses,therefore,should be increased. giving nurses very low income is very unfair!!! compare this profession to other field,why can a call center agent get a p13k as starting when they use their voice in working?a computer programmer p20k when using their finger tips in working? and a nurse p150-200/day p4k/mo starting when we use almost all our senses in not just working but giving service. we even have to pass a licensure exam be executing this profession. it's not just unfair but unhumane!!!

(wages of other profession may be more or less-sited just an example)

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"if you can't do everything that's not a reason for you to do nothing"

[nurselove]

Can you imagine the voting power, the nurses have if you form a political bloc!! Even if you get the promise from politicians. One can call a press conference and say" we will not vote for you again", if they renege on their promise. What would the headlines say? "President turns down 100,000 nurses" How would that look on that politician's image. The Philippine media can be very vicious especially to Politicians.