Question for nurses who work in a BPO setting

Hi I will be speaking for my self based on my experiences working in a call center.

*what are the factors that influence nurses to apply or work in a call center industry?

=> The main reason why I applied in a call center is to generate a decent income to help Mom in shouldering our expenses at home. I felt this an obligation since we only have my Mom working and we have been relying on her since Dad passed away 11 years ago. This was actually the first thing that I did immediately after the board exam. I think another compelling factor to me that time was the fact that I have been a bum for the longest time after graduation since we were not allowed to take the June 2008 board exam due to the high number of test takers. I graduated in April 2008 and I took the board exam in November 2008.

what are your feelings about nurses working as call center agents?

=> Initially I felt that working in a call center wasn't a life time career for me, to me I was just working there to let the time fly while I'm looking for a hospital to work for. I never intended to stay in a call center because I had plans in pursuing my application with different hospitals. Unfortunately my experiences working in hospitals were most of the time frustrating. Hospitals would always accept my resume but they would just ask me to wait for their call which never happened. I never easily gave up though, I persisted submitting my applications in other hospitals and this has been going on for 3 years already. Right now, I have been promoted as a Subject Matter Expert in our account handling new hire classes as their mentor, quality analyst and trainer and at the same time, I am waiting for progress in 2 of my successful hospital applications. I would certainly leave my job once any of the 2 hospitals I applied for calls me for deployment.

can you say that you can still practice your nursing skills even if you are in a different environment? if yes, please specify a certain event where you practiced your nursing skills when at work in a call center.

I think I can. In my job I have to deal with customers of different communication styles and background. As a nurse, we were trained about communicating with people in such an open and nurturing way to facilitate smooth and easy conversation. I can say I was able to apply this in my job specially when dealing with super irate callers.

hi mikeru22!! thanks for replying to the post. I have few more questions, if call center nursing would be an official nursing specialization, would you still look for a hospital setting related jobs? does working in BPO affected you in terms of culture? thanks very much!! Your response will be very much appreciated.

hi mikeru22!! thanks for replying to the post. I have few more questions, if call center nursing would be an official nursing specialization, would you still look for a hospital setting related jobs? does working in BPO affected you in terms of culture? thanks very much!! Your response will be very much appreciated.

Yes, I would still look for a hospital based job, I prefer being able to practice the things I learned in a hospital setting. Working in a call center has affected me in terms of culture in such a way that I have become more proactive in terms of voicing out the things I don't like and making sure that I am straightforward in conversations.

hello, i have been practicing my profession in the Philippines and in abroad for seven years. now, i am staying here in the philippines and interested also to work in a BPO Setting. been applying recently since they are specifically looking for nurses with clinical experience like me. but i always fail at interviews. realizing that they were just looking for applicants with excellent english skills since the job will be handling calls for foreign costumers. if not handling calls, applicant must be a fast typist and have a good grammar foundation. i really want to work in an active and productive company like the BPO but maybe it's not my luck and i am loosing hope. i know there are few nurses out there who have the same experience like me. i honesty want to land a job here in the philippines and stay here for good. sorry for the grammar, i know i am not really good in english like you guys. thank you in advance for respecting my comment. :)

hello, i have been practicing my profession in the Philippines and in abroad for seven years. now, i am staying here in the philippines and interested also to work in a BPO Setting. been applying recently since they are specifically looking for nurses with clinical experience like me. but i always fail at interviews. realizing that they were just looking for applicants with excellent english skills since the job will be handling calls for foreign costumers. if not handling calls, applicant must be a fast typist and have a good grammar foundation. i really want to work in an active and productive company like the BPO but maybe it's not my luck and i am loosing hope. i know there are few nurses out there who have the same experience like me. i honesty want to land a job here in the philippines and stay here for good. sorry for the grammar, i know i am not really good in english like you guys. thank you in advance for respecting my comment. :)

Hi. This is mikeru22. I will be using this account while I'm trying to retrieve the original account's password. Well, things are different now. I now work in a local government hospital as a staff nurse after 5 grueling years of waiting, rejection and trying hard to finally get to a hospital to work as a nurse.

While it's frustrating, exhausting and saddening to be rejected in interviews, each experience is actually a learning opportunity for you to take note of your areas for improvement and do better next time.

I was exactly in the same shoe 7 years ago. Right after graduation, I started looking for BPO jobs but I failed many times. I would pass the technical part like aptitude, written and typing tests but fail the final interview with the HR head or with the client. Each time, they would tell me what I lacked and what I should improve on (e.g. pronunciation, grammar, conversation skills etc) until after 8 or so tries, I finally got in.

The first company I worked in tremendously helped me in improving my communication skills because I got the chance to talk to customers in the US allowing me to broaden my understanding, experience and skills.

Just keep trying. You'll eventually find the best company that will provide you all the training, experience and needs that you badly desire.