Norway needs more Pinoy nurses, other skilled workers

Silverdragon102, BSN · Nov 20, 2008

well,norway needs filipino nurses.what's next?rwanda?it would be better if the government will open nursing jobs to us and allow nursing grads even without work experience to work abroad.

Takes time and money when bringing in foreign nurses and then you are asking them to spend more money on training you because you have no experience. For a lot of employers it is to help ease shortfalls in staff numbers so would expect to have some experience

marslarks · Nov 21, 2008

i just want to comment bout this issue you know because your kind of degrading Filipinos too much..yes i admit that filipinos have limitations, we cannot speak norwegian but i think filipinos are not that stupid to actually venture norway without proper preparations..they are professional nurses..give them some credit for petes sake..moreover just because filipinos easily jumps job offerings from different countries that have diffirent languages doesnt mean that we cannot learn the language..i have an aunt in switzerland who studied all her life here in the philippines and she speaks french well..in fact she is one of the head of the UN..it depends on the persons will and abilities..if she really is a fast learner and is committed well, i think anyone can learn one's language..

5cats · Nov 21, 2008

About the language issue...everybody has to learn a foreign language when you want to move, and I would say if you want to do this go for it.

I'm just not sure if Norway is still accepting applicants without any knowledge of the language. They recruited many german nurses, but those were offered a language course at the baltic center in Germany for preparation prior to deployment.

5cats

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · Nov 21, 2008

i just want to comment bout this issue you know because your kind of degrading Filipinos too much..yes i admit that filipinos have limitations, we cannot speak norwegian but i think filipinos are not that stupid to actually venture norway without proper preparations..they are professional nurses..give them some credit for petes sake..moreover just because filipinos easily jumps job offerings from different countries that have diffirent languages doesnt mean that we cannot learn the language..i have an aunt in switzerland who studied all her life here in the philippines and she speaks french well..in fact she is one of the head of the UN..it depends on the persons will and abilities..if she really is a fast learner and is committed well, i think anyone can learn one's language..

One thing to learn a language it is another to learn the language fluently. Then to you need to learn the medical language which is another issue. Another issue is when taking care of people of acutely ill you don't have time to start to looking up words. My sister also works for the UN- in the WHO division, she has been in many countries, in her high level position she had time, if she didn't understand a word she looks it up, if she is a meeting she can bring and aide to assist her in translating. No one is degrading anybody, it is my experience that only a handful of any population has the gift to instantly learning a language. It is like painting a picture or singing we all have the ability to learn but only a small minority can do it well. My point is I don't think anyone is degrading anyone just stating a fact based on their life experiences.

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · Nov 21, 2008

i just want to comment bout this issue you know because your kind of degrading Filipinos too much..yes i admit that filipinos have limitations, we cannot speak norwegian but i think filipinos are not that stupid to actually venture norway without proper preparations..they are professional nurses..give them some credit for petes sake..moreover just because filipinos easily jumps job offerings from different countries that have diffirent languages doesnt mean that we cannot learn the language..i have an aunt in switzerland who studied all her life here in the philippines and she speaks french well..in fact she is one of the head of the UN..it depends on the persons will and abilities..if she really is a fast learner and is committed well, i think anyone can learn one's language..

One thing to learn a language it is another to learn the language fluently. Then to you need to learn the medical language which is another issue. Another issue is when taking care of people of acutely ill you don't have time to start to looking up words. My sister also works for the UN- in the WHO division, she has been in many countries, in her high level position she had time, if she didn't understand a word she looks it up, if she is a meeting she can bring and aide to assist her in translating. No one is degrading anybody, it is my experience that only a handful of any population has the gift to instantly learning a language. It is like painting a picture or singing we all have the ability to learn but only a small minority can do it well. My point is I don't think anyone is degrading anyone just stating a fact based on their life experiences.

suzanne4, RN · Nov 21, 2008

well,norway needs filipino nurses.what's next?rwanda?it would be better if the government will open nursing jobs to us and allow nursing grads even without work experience to work abroad.

There is nothing anyplace that states that they need nurses from your country. Actually if you take the time to read you will see that none are hired as RNs there, but strictly as care-givers. And this does not give one credit as an RN when they are to apply to any country later on.

You must also take and pass their language exam. Also be aware that the salary being quoted in this thread will be below poverty level with expenses as high as they are there as well as very cold.

It is not up to your country as to who can work abroad, it is up the respective country that you would be working in, nothing to do with the Philippines. They also have no control over what the hospitals are doing with their hiring in your country. But they can put a stop to all of these nursing schools opening like little labs and producing lab animals. This is what happens when something is mass produced, the level of everything goes down and that is what we are seeing.

But it has nothing to do with the Norwegian government, nor the government of any other country. Look at your own first. They need to be the ones to fix things, they cannot rely on others for it.

suzanne4, RN · Nov 21, 2008

And no one is demeaning anyone. One needs to be very aware of every single document that they are signing. And none of them are for the Filipino RN to go to Normay and instantly be working as an RN. They will not even be considered for licensure until they pass the language exam first of all.

And as mentioned above, when someone is acutely ill, their language skills may not be the best, and add in a nurse that does not understand them and things can get blown out of proportion. I still see it happen quite often in the US when the foreign nurse actually had English experience but it still happens.

With any of these so-called contracts that the Philippine government has signed, one must recognize first off that none of them are for the RN to go there in the RN role. Every single one of them is for the RN to go as a care-giver and nothing more. And what many are not taking into their reasoning, is that the experience as a care-giver is just that, it is not considered as nursing experience, therefore when the two year contract is actually up, they will not have had any current work experience and will not meet the requirements for most countries to get hired in as well.

We see nurses posting all of the time of promises made to them or programs that were offered, and guess what happens at the end? They are still working as care-givers or have to leave the country and go someplace else and start all over again.

This is never something that someone should accept when they have a full four year BSN in the first place, but unfortunately, it is something that is quite acceptable to your government officials.

marslarks · Nov 24, 2008

to everyone's information, these nurses who actually applied for nurses but become caregivers is because they have no choice right?theyve got to claim what is offered..they do not complain what job is offered as long as it is related to their course.do you know why?because they have family that rely on them..nursing is costly..but dont you know that even a sidewalk vendor can send her child to study nursing?well there is a long story behind that that i couldnt express more..thats why filipino nurses are all going out of the country because, yeah, the philippine government actually have no concern either on nurses and a lot of stuff..well i guess you wouldnt understand because youve never been here and acrtually see what it is like to live here..

mheygz,RN · Apr 15, 2011

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=124069
another door open for filipino nurses. even with the communication barrier Filipino can adapt to it. goodluck to nurses who wnat to pursue in norway.

how to apply?

lactamase · Apr 16, 2011

Lots of Filipino nurses in the middle east and they don't even know arabic but they're doing fine. Just a thought in the language topic.

r.u.serius · Apr 21, 2011

Lots of Filipino nurses in the middle east and they don't even know arabic but they're doing fine. Just a thought in the language topic.

You cannot compare applying to Norway and the Middle East because they are different process. You can apply from the Philippines going to the middle east through an agency, difficult to do that applying to Norway. You need to know somebody who actually lives in Norway to help you. I heard most employers and workplace in the Middle East speaks English, unlike in Norway, you have to learn the language and you have to change your license.

lactamase · Apr 23, 2011

You cannot compare applying to Norway and the Middle East because they are different process. You can apply from the Philippines going to the middle east through an agency, difficult to do that applying to Norway. You need to know somebody who actually lives in Norway to help you. I heard most employers and workplace in the Middle East speaks English, unlike in Norway, you have to learn the language and you have to change your license.

I agree with you regarding how different those two countries are. Though it's not entirely true that most employers in the middle east speaks english. Some can speak utilize english well but for most of the time you'll have rely on context clues.