Why do so many nurses from the Philippines come to Canada/USA?

RL657 · Mar 16, 2011

Both my husband and I are Filipino nurses who are now working and living in Canada. Fortunately enough,we arrived here as immigrants.We both took the exam and passed it the first time we took it and found work right away in an acute hospital.I am very thankful that before we came here my husband did a lot of studying about how to register as a nurse and how to integrate successfully.We did not have much problems that many experienced when they arrived unprepared.I know of many nurses from the Philippines who are working as nurses in the Middle East and arrived here as live-in caregivers.

I did both teaching in a college of nursing and working in the hospital at the same time in the Philippines. Many of my former students became nurses for the reason that they believed that Canada and the US offers better pay. US of A is the ultimate destination.That sounded like a statement from a travel agency:).Therefore ,what follows would be a better future.The working situation right now is deplorable.Nurses are being paid poorly. Imagine working in a unit where there are only 3 RNs and 40 patients in a government hospital.It is absolutely unsafe and to make it worst many colleges of nursing are popping out everywhere leading to mass production of nursing graduates.No work can be found for them and that is horrible.

Another sad thought is that most Filipinos who are taking up nursing are being encouraged by their own families either in the Philippines or in Canada and the US to take up nursing.They believed that if one takes up nursing it is a ticket way out of the poverty that exists right now.I came across students who was forced to take up nursing due to the above mentioned reason and never really appreciating what is nursing all about.They simply don't have the clue of what awaits them.Another scenario that is occurring right now is that many parents (I have nothing against them personally), even if they know their children does not have what it takes to be a nurse ,kept on pushing them and simply believing that they will pass the licensure exam . If they fail the first time ,the parents would just say there is always the next time.I don't intend to be sarcastic but this is just my own observation that some parents have blinded themselves to the reality and deluded themselves of the capacity of their children.I know they want a better future for their kids but I truly believe that in this type of scenario we must braced ourselves to the reality of what they can do and what they cant.

So many new graduates with less hospital experience and lesser chances of working in hospitals.Everyone in the Philippines thinks that working abroad is the best way to have a better life.I know that a lot of new graduates were hired in some provinces such as Saskatchewan and Alberta who do not have enough experience at all.Filipino nurses tends to think that the country is producing the so called"best nurses" in the world,that is why many countries are hiring them.The media,the government and the educators are just simply not helping in that scenario. They don't seem to understand that the phrase "best nurses in the world" is offending to other nurses coming from other countries.It is implying that the other nurses who are not from the Philippines are none better.It is not intentional on their part but they should consider the feelings of other nurses and do some reading about this topic. I know Filipino nurses are good nurses and they work hard but that doesn't mean other nurses are not like that.

I hope I am able to share some insights through this post. I love the nursing profession and I respect everyone and anyone who earns the title of an RN whether they came from the Philippines or anywhere else.

mba2bsn · Mar 16, 2011

The First Nations Indians were the first settlers of Canada before the Europeans immigrated to Canada. If you are one of the decendants of First Nations Indians then you have the authority to be upset to all people who are immigrating to Canada. Additionally, why not ask your fellow Canadian nurses who are working in the US on NAFTA-TN visa if they are stealing the jobs that should belong to Americans ? Should the American new grad nurses also blame the Canadian nurses because they can't find a job to pay their student loans and putting food on the table to feed their families ?

allnurses Guide · Mar 16, 2011

why are so many people here on allnurses always asking this? what's next? why are there so many black nurses? why are there so many hispanics nurses? back in the days when we had the "nursing shortage", the u.s. government were begging filipino nurses to come to america. they automatically got "green cards" instantly including their families. that's how my mom and several of my aunts got here. and now that there is no more nursing shortage, you want to kick them to the curb?
why is it sad that you work more with filipino nurses than your fellow canadians? is it the filipino nurses fault that many canadians are out of work? how do you know they are not canadian citizens already?
these filipino nurses enter your country legally and your board of nursing issued these nurses licenses, so what is the problem?

i'm sorry - but this attitude is not helpful to anyone, no matter whether they come from the phillipines or anywhere else. she was very careful to word her post carefully so as not to offend anyone. she never uttered even a hint of a problem with ethnicity, and it is posts like this that build walls between people.

i've been on this forum for a long time, and i do not see where nurses are "always" asking this. please take a breath next time you decide to have a knee-jerk over-reaction to someone who asked a question that i feel, and i think many other filipino nurses would also feel, didn't have a damn thing to do with prejudice or racism until you brought that ugliness into it. now i will attempt to continue as if you never derailed the thread with your issues.

allnurses Guide · Mar 16, 2011

It doesn't matter at all. I don't care about race, that has nothing to do with it. I said nothing about race and frankly I really like working with all of the Phillipino nurses I have worked with. I am just curious as to what the draw is for them to North America?
The reason I have never asked this question before despite my curiosity is for the exact reason you just brought up. People always bring up the race thing. If I had asked why do so many nurses from England(not the case) move here nobody would flinch.
But I am going to let my curiosity get the better of me and hope for some honest responses.

I don't think being curious about this is wrong. I've wondered the same thing myself. I can tell you tried to phrase it in a sensitive manner and thank you to all the Filipino nurses who responded in kind and helped shed some light on this.

We wonder about it (or I do anyway) because from my standpoint in the US anyway, especially where I live, we have large communities of people who come from other countries that have the same basic problems at home that people in the Phillipines have, and yet there is a unique representation of Filipinos in nursing that people from other economically depressed countries do not have.

I'm certain the ties can be traced to the World War II years in some way, but we've had similar relationships with others that don't do this so obviously it is a combination of factors. Those who have shared that multiple members of their families are nurses - I think that is fantastic. I wish all of us had that much fellowship and support from their family as you do. Lots of us have to deal with skeptical or downright derogatory remarks from our families.

Honestly sometimes I'm even a little uncomfortable when people say that "they are good workers, they are industrious, etc" because though it is a compliment it's also a generalization which isn't good unless it's about how awesome California girls are and then it's true. That was a lame attempt at humor. I try really hard to approach everyone I meet with a blank slate. Our minds usually contain a hodgepodge of impressions we get from anywhere and everywhere though, so I try to notice when I might be subconsciously being too judgemental. I'm human. None of us are perfect. How about we cut each other some slack when we inadvertently blunder in our wording. No harm meant. :)

NurseOnAMotorcycle, ASN, RN · Mar 16, 2011

So tired of hearing "mexicans are stealing our jobs", "chinese are stealing our jobs", "(insert race/religion/nationality here) are stealing our jobs."

The honest truth is that providing a visa for a single foreigner to work is a giant pain in the behind, and 99% of companies do NOT want to go through that headache.

madfowl · Mar 16, 2011

It must be very hard for the OP to understand the desire to travel and see the world. I am guessing that the OP has never been out the 50 mile radius of her small town. Why dont you try to leave the tiny box that you live in and go get a job in Alaska, or Hawaii, or the Phillipines? Just for the experience?

Jingles39 · Mar 16, 2011

It must be very hard for the OP to understand the desire to travel and see the world. I am guessing that the OP has never been out the 50 mile radius of her small town. Why dont you try to leave the tiny box that you live in and go get a job in Alaska, or Hawaii, or the Phillipines? Just for the experience? Like they say, small town, small mind.

And maybe I'M now offended because I've lived in a small town all my life and am hurt by the suggestion of having a "small mind" :rolleyes: ....I'm not btw, I'm actually a little bit tougher than that AND I have quite an open mind, thank you very much.

Where does the silliness end with this kind of stuff?? Sheesh....

Silverdragon102, BSN · Mar 16, 2011

Guys guys guys............ at no time did the OP want to cause issues and like a lot of things in regards to other cultures and immigration things do get out of hand.

The US has for several years (since Oct 2006) been under retrogression so regardless on country the person is from UK, Canada, Japan, Philippines etc there is a long long wait for immigrant visa allowing them to live and work in the US. Only exceptions are Canadians, Mexicans and Australians have an option of a treaty visa which allows them to live and work in the US as long as they meet conditions set down by immigration as well as the state BON and pass NCLEX.

Canada has for several years accepted lots of immigrants regardless on country including me from the UK. We still have to meet requirements both for immigration and this covers temporary work permits as well as the provincial colleges of RN/LPN (similar to US boards of Nursing)and pass CRNE. Canada recently put a cap on nurses applying for PR and this cap for RN's was reached a few months ago for 2010/11 and may be included on the list in June but there again may not due to the changes that have occurred recently with Canadians struggling to find work. There are however other options to immigrate but may vary from province to province.

If you check out the international forum you will see threads of people not just Philippine nurses looking at options on moving to the US, UK, Canada and Australia/New Zealand just to name a couple of countries and yes there are a lot of Philippine nurses posting but if you look at their options you will see that nursing in their own country is poor due to the high demand of nurses being trained and the few jobs being offered.

There is always a view that someone is foreign because they look different when they may have been born in that country due to their parents migrating when younger, so remember because they don't look the same as you doesn't mean they are immigrants.

My story was I had a job in the US was affected by retrogression, couple years later had the opportunity to come to Canada. Fell in love with Canada stopped the US move (still waiting for a visa) and now waiting for permanent residency. Now working after meeting stringent requirements and even from the UK I get paid better here in Canada but my main reason for travel was the opportunity to see and live something different and expand my knowledge

BluegrassRN · Mar 16, 2011

You do understand that nobody believes you? You do understand that you will be seen as a bigot? Change your username, girlfriend.

Madfowl, just stop. Just because someone notices that there is a large number of Filipino nurses compared to the general population and asks why, doesn't mean they are a racist jerk. Just stop.

OP, where I work, there is not a sizable Filipino population in the area, and therefore Filipino nurses definitely over represent proportionately. When I asked one of my coworkers about it, she gave several reasons. She said there is a large tradition of nursing among families (her mother and aunts were nurses, several of her sisters were nurses), the preparatory and hospital systems were heavily influenced by the American presence post WW2, and it's a great job opportunity for women but the pay and conditions are terrible in comparison to the US (and I assume Canada). The US, Canada, Europe, and Australia aggressively recruited in the Philippines during the nursing shortage, in some countries going so far as to ease immigration and visa standards in order to bring Filipino nurses into the country.

The Philippines is the largest exporter of nurses in the world. 32% of the foreign nurses in the US are from the Philippines. Those are not racists statements, they are facts.

Trauma Columnist · Mar 16, 2011

I work in the midwest in a fairly rural area - we have mostly white nurses and we all look alike.

However, I have worked in more diverse environments like Las Vegas too where there are many immigrants/foreign grads.

So, it just depends on where you live.

Silverdragon has pointed out several very solid reasons as to why people want to immigrate.

I was fortunate to travel extensively when I was in the military and lived overseas for a total of 12 years. I can tell you truthfully, the US is the best place to live and work despite our shortcomings. This is my opinion only of course.

MouseMichelle · Mar 16, 2011

I work with a lot of nurses from the philipines they make wonderful nurses, very very smart, and very good at their job...doesn't matter why.

julyemrn · Mar 16, 2011

A large number of filipino registered nurses dream of moving to US or Canada for a one simple reason: seek for a greener pasture, then provide for a better life for their families back home.