banchan

@ rani.andaya You need the crucial document if you want to facilitate the processing time of your papers. They may accept your documents but you may not be included in the next batch or may wait up to 1 year.

Currently, the IELTS Guru in the Philippines, is promoting the Australia-AHPRA option to his enrollees/Filipino nurses as a key to get out of the rat race. There will be a seminar regarding nursing oppurtunites in Australia on March 3, 2011 @ 4-6pm in 9ner Quezon Avenue branch. I just hope that they will disclose to the attendees in the forum that they need to shed at least half a million pesos to cover up for the expenses for eligibility application, visa processing and tuition fee for the bridging program. Also, I wish that they will mention to those who will attend that employment oppurtunities in Australia right now, especially for those who have zero/training experience are very slim. It's like finding a needle in a stack of hay. Also, it will take lots of time and patience. Just waiting for your eligibility letter from AHPRA will take months. Also, they must not forget to mention that going to Australia and working there to get a PR visa so that they can bring their family with them is not that easy anymore. They must check with the Australian Immigration (I just forgot the name of the institution). After reading previous posts in this thread, I learned that changes have been made and they are now being strict with the requirements for skilled professionals to obtain PR visa. It boils down to this: 1. Is Au RN license possible for Filipino RN to achieve? ANSWER: YES. Provided that you comply with AHPRA's requirements and you have LOTS OF MONEY/FINANCIAL SUPPORT to start everything until you finished your Bridging Program. 2. Is employment possible after obtaining my Au RN license? ANSWER: It depends on your experience and the state where you want to practice. e.g. Queensland employment oppotunities right now is very low. If you have zero/training exprerience only, chances of being accepted in hospitals are very very low because they still prefer to hire those with experience. You can still get a job from homecare institutions but the salary is not that high compared to working in hospitals.

@apoplexy My cousin is the one arranging my visa. He has already started processing my papers. As to your question of the possibility of having a different person file for an application for DOH exam for someone who is not in Dubai, I'm not sure. I will be the one filing for it when I get there. I am quite anxious about the exam. So I see that it is a panel interview. I have experienced a panel interview before (composed of 5 panelists) when I apply in a tertiary hospital here in the Phil. With God's help, I was able to passed. I just don't know what will happen to me there... huhu... I am thinking of taking the HAAD exam here in Makati as a failsafe plan if ever I won't be able to passed the DOH exam. Do you think it is necesssary? Or should I wait for my DOH exam result in Dubai? I am quite pessimistic. I really am. (what a disaster!) My cousin said that I will be leaving by mid April this year. You say that you will also go there by April? God bless to both of us!

@ Lorelle Hi! We're in the same boat. I'll be going there in Dubai this April as a tourist and will take the DOH exam there. I have a relative that is working in a hospital and he's the one arranging my visa and booking my flight. The only thing that I need to do is to pass the DOH exam and I also don't have any idea as to what kind of exam is that. I heard that it is some kind of an oral/panel interivew. When will you go to Dubai? I am also contemplating to take HAAD exam here in the Phil. just in case if I won't be able to pass the DOH exam, I can transfer to Abu Dhabi. Hope someone who has taken and has already passed the DOH exam share their experience...

@ pangarapnanatupad How did you bypassed the 2 year work experience requirement? Are you still assigned in the PHC? Well your story is quite scary for me! Haha! Not knowing were you will be assigned (hospital and ward assignment) for 5 days? Haha I'm starting to feel a bit of security to the agency I was referring in my previous post. The only difference is the salry. SR 3100 is a lot better thant SR 2250. Now I understand that even if you were hired by MOH, there is no assurance that you will get your salary on time. Some even wait upto 6 months before they were able to get their previous month's salary. Also, you there is also no guarantee of knowing your hospital area and ward assignment. I can't imagine that they are sending new hired applicants in PHC. It's MOH so I assume that they will place you in a hospital...

Whoah. Thanks Lyfer for that very detailed, concerned and honest reply. I already disregarded their offer. I just don't know for the other applicants and there are hundreds of us. I wish I could PM you the name of the agency and the hospital but I see that your posts haven't yet reached 15 so I'll just wait hehe.. Housing and transportation are free. If the hospital is quite far from the place of our residence, they will provide a shuttle for us to and from the workplace. As for the electiricty, appliance and water supply, I don't know if that is included for free or if we will be the ones shouldering it. With regard to your reply, not having your salary up to 6 months is also possible even if your under SRO-MOH right? It boils down as to how fast your iqama or work permit will be issued? Who will apply for iqama? You or MOH will process it for you? Our salaries are negotiable based on our specialization. Dialysis, ER and OR nurses are offered with higher salary. As for us general nurses without specialization, they only offer us SR 2250-2300 and the SR 200 for food allowance is already included there. So if they offer you SR 2300, that means that your actual salary is only SR 2100 because the other SR 200 is your food allowance. One thing about this agency and why they are patronized by many is their ability to adjust your work experience. Meaning, they will make a new COE for me and for all of us who applied. I knew people who had their papers processed in this agency and they are now working in Saudi. This agency is true and they are all working in a JCI accredited private hospitals and not in clinics. But the salary is quite low... Before I forget, the processing fee is 18k+ it includes the mediccal fee of PHP 3920, authentication of documents in the embassy, visa stamping, etc. But this can be paid by installment. For the placement fee, it is equivalent to your 1 month salary and the mode of payment is by salary deduction. Hence, your first monthly wage will go to the agency. I went to the agency for interview at exactly 11am and I was interviewed at 7pm! Just imagine how long that was! So I had a chance to have some chit chat with my fellow applicants. I cannot blame those who are applying. I was also enticed by the agency's offer. Some are even graduates and board passers of 2007 that up until present has no paid work experience but only volunteer or clinic work. Some are company nurses and medical representatives. There is this girl who even came from Pangasinan just to get a slot from this agency. Some are from Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Laguna and Bicol. With the current situation of nurses here in our country, they don't mind even if they are offered with this work conditions. They even told me that: "Even if we are offered with low salary, we cannot complain because we don't have paid hospital experience. We are even grateful that they are considering us unlike in this country wherein you will be exploited by volunteering with a FEE. We are not getting any younger and some of us have children to feed. We will rather work abroad with low salary than do volunteer work in a hospital with no guarantee of being absorbed."

Hi to everyone. I just finished a job interview bound to Saudi last week (this is from a private agency and not from SRO) but I am not convinced with the offer. I just want to ask those who were offered by SRO if the conditons they offer you is the same as those with this private agency. These are the conditions that they gave us: 1. You will only know the branch/place of the hospital you will be assigned to when you get there in Saudi (e.g. Dammam, Al-khobar, Jeddah, etc.) 2. You won't be able to get your salary for 2-3 months. You will only be given a SR 200 food allowance but in the 3rd or 4th month, you will be able to get your your full salary from the previous months. 3. Three years contract but you will be able to go home every 18th month and you will have a 25 days paid vacation. Is this also the same with SRO? Especially about the first two conditions? Not knowing were you will be assigned and not being able to get your salary for the first 2-3 months? I asked them why the employer needs to hold our salary. They just told me that it is some kind of a "bond" and I don't quite get what that means. Does this mean that they want to be sure that we will be able to continue on with our contract so they are testing us for 2-3 months by not giving our salary? To those successful SRO candidates, please shed light regarding this. Thanks a lot in advance.

That is my point. If your certificate was not even considered in your own country, what more if you want to go abroad? Isn't it ironic that when the issue of "Volunteerism for a Fee" started spreading like wildfire in the news for over a week, they started again this kind of program? Do the authorities involved and responsible think that RN HEALS can augment this conundrum? I don't think so.

Hi to everyone. I don't want to be a party pooper but I think there are some drawbacks to this program. RN Heals is similar to DOH's NARS Program. You will not be employed in a hospital setting here but will be in the community, barangay or health centers. RN Heals program is launched in partnership with DSWD and the LGUs of the participating municipalites/provinces. If you are a newly registered nurse and wants to hone your skills or apply the theories you learned from academic preparation to a clinical setting, then I suggest that you opt for a volunteer position in a hospital. Just make sure that it is for free. But, if community nursing is your passion then I suggest that you push thru. Also, as what I 've heard from those who participated in the NARS program, the salary is always delayed. I've worked as a staff nurse in a government hospital before so I know that when they mean delayed, it is really DELAYED. My contract ended in the month of March but I got my salary for that month in May. Again, if you like community nursing or you are just waiting for an application for a nursing position locally or abroad and is just killing time or someone who really needs an income as of the moment, RN Heals may not be a bad idea. Remember that if you are bound to work abroad (which most of us are), COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSING is NOT considered as an experience because employers still prefer hospital experience.

Hi everyone. I am interested to be a nurse-paramedic but I am a female. Whenever I am looking at job postings abroad for EMTs, the always require males. To those graduated from LSTI, how many are you in a batch? Can you give me the ratio of male and female enrollees? Do you have any news from your female batchmates if they have found a job locally or abroad? I am contemplating whether to take an EMT or DIALYSIS course since the fee is almost the same. About the chance of being employed here locally for experience whether as an EMT or DIALYSIS nurse for experience, which do you think weighs more? I heard that dialysis centers/clinics here are now full; I just dont know for EMTs. Thanks a lot in advance.

@nurseleeia I'm guessing that you are from the Philippines. If yes, have you checked with POEA if this agency is licensed with them and if they have approved job orders? Also, check with the UAE embassy as to what is the actual cost of the visa if it is for employment. It is quite expensive for me. 65k? Check www.workabroad.ph they have lots of job opening for nurses there in UAE. You might want to try going to some of the agencies and require about their recruitment procedure and application fees. Compare it with your agency and then you decide.

Wow! welcome back cioman94! Just want to ask how was your stay there? Were are you in Australia? How was the job, living expenses, etc. Mind sharing the work and living experience there? Thanks a lot!

@ dodoy Thanks. I also don't want to quit but its a race against time. Hopefully, all of us will be able to find a secured job within a workplace that fosters harmony among its staff...

Oops! Not entirely in English. Only those words that poses technical difficulties for foregin examinees are to be translated. Please read the article in this link: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/201301/japan-nursing-exam-wont-be-in-english-poea Hopefully this will increase the passing rate of foreign nurses.

Hi! As fas as I know, for the 2 batches, only ONE Filipino has passed the Japanese Nurses Licensure Exams. Check this site for more info: http://nursingcrib.com/rn-success-stories/the-only-filipino-nurse-to-pass-japans-nursing-exam/ I don't know what happened to those who failed the test but based on the infos I have read, you can take their exam up to 3 times for RNs. I also want to try this but I lack the experience. Also, being in Japan is a nice experience for me. I love the country's culture and people. :)