situation: need hospital experience and willing to spend

mrmiyagi · Sep 18, 2009

It doesn't technically matter about the size of the hospital as long as you are getting paid clinical work. You should keep account of your Nurse:PT ratios for interview purposes in the future. Bear in mind that US hospital admins don't always understand that in RPH it can be just as hectic in a small rural hospital as it can be in a large city hospital due to the sliding ratios.
Additionally, DOLE is opening up more slots for the NARS program so you can try to get into that for a good, solid 6 months to a year of clinical experience that is both paid and unique for your resume'.

regarding that NARS, when you said unique. does that mean good?

Hushdawg · Sep 22, 2009

I meant unique in that it is clinical experience for a government project that will allow you to work in difficult rural environments as well as hospital environments. It will look good at a future job interview!

You can also check out the Rizal Provencial government. I have been informed that they provide 3 month paid employment for nurses to help beef up experience.

Nurse!Nurse!Hello? · Sep 22, 2009

Does US hospitals require their trainees to pay? I'm curious because some big hospitals here in the Philippines have Basic Nursing Training? It seems likes it is a must for these hospitals to require their future employees with training that...again...involves a fee.

In the US, nurses do not pay for training when they start a new job! There is an orientation period when you start a new job, and you are paid during that orientation. No American nurse would ever even think of paying for the "privilege" of working.

Why would I work for free? I spent a long time getting a nursing license, and I would be very insulted if a hospital wanted me to pay them in order to work there! :nono: It would never happen.

arvicharlie · Sep 23, 2009

im really frustrated with the nursing situation here in the Philippines. anywhere you apply they are either on freeze hiring or just open for volunteer experience (of course without pay some will even ask for a fee), that will not entail any staff nurse position even if you've been volunteering for them for over a year. ofcourse there's the promise of being given a certificate for the time (energy and your parents' money) you spent with them but, unfortunately some job openings abroad requires atleast a year of work experience (meaning paid) in a hospital setting.ARGGGh... then again, there's the problem with the "Backer (PALAKASAN) Movement". people who belong to this group are those who have conections inside the hospital or related to a government official. im sorry to say but i hate these people because most of them don't even have any basic skills like IVT or spent even a month as a volunteer, they are right away employed as a staff nurse. it sucks!

i don't know if i will just give in and work as call center agent instead. but my dillema is i really want to work in a hospital setting because i somewhat love being and working as a nurse inspite of all these crap!

i think what im really frustrated about are the kind of people we have in our government and the only thing that might change come 2010 is the person sitting in Malacanang. the same old problems will still remain the same not only for nurses but for all pinoys as a whole. there will still be the ever present lack of opportunity for most of us..

Hushdawg · Sep 24, 2009

im really frustrated with the nursing situation here in the Philippines. anywhere you apply they are either on freeze hiring or just open for volunteer experience (of course without pay some will even ask for a fee), that will not entail any staff nurse position even if you've been volunteering for them for over a year. ofcourse there's the promise of being given a certificate for the time (energy and your parents' money) you spent with them but, unfortunately some job openings abroad requires atleast a year of work experience (meaning paid) in a hospital setting.

Which is exactly why Nurses in the Philippines should boycott this ridiculous volunteer and pay-to-work scam that hospitals are running. You are spending your time, skills and money and get nothing useful in return. No hospital cares about those certificates.

There is also a bizarre thing in the Philippines that people run around to seminars and such to collect certificates. I see long lists of them on resume's. In all actuality those certificates aren't worth the paper they are printed on. Nobody cares about them.

Go to seminars if you really want to learn the information being presented but for God's sake don't be a certificate collector.

arvicharlie · Sep 24, 2009

@HUshdawg:

OUch! :chuckle im actually one of those certificate collectors attending various seminars and training from some institution who actually says they are recognized by some US organizations. i attend these seminars because i thought that the skills i learned from them will help me land a job abroad, like the mid-east for example, while waiting for the retrogression to be lifted but to no avail most of the agencies here requires the applicant to have atleast one year hospital experience. i'm not sure if being a volunteer will suffice this requirement but earlier a friend told me that they do accept volunteer experience now.

i don't resent attending the seminars/trainings though because i learned a lot from them, specially the ones i attended from an institution who provides certificates that are recognized by some US organization.in fairness to them they follow US standards in teaching us the skills and the providing equipments that we were allowed to have a hands-on practice.i also believe that these skills training helped me in passing the NCLEX-RN.

there are some other options for nurses here in my country like working as a company nurse or a school nurse. again, they require experience and those with experience won't even consider working in these areas because of better opportunities abroad. so for those nurses who like me collected certificates and don't have any hospital experience (because i don't want to volunteer, because i had this impression that volunteering is non-sense waste of time that will not get me anywhere), will still be applying to become a volunteer nurse in the end. its so funny that i've been trying to fight this thing but here i am, i have submitted my application and will be taking the examination to become a volunteer nurse in a hospital here in our province. i will become in a few weeks or months time, one of the reasons why hospitals have been very abusive of us nurses. it is very clear that these hospitals need more staff nurses due to the fact that the nurse patient ratio is atleast 1:10, but they don't, even if the applicants are very much competent and capable, because they take advantage of those willing to volunteer and work without pay. in this way the hospital earn more revenue.

i really can't believe that im giving in to this crap. well i guess since i can't be in the US anytime soon even though i already have my US license due to retrogression and Obama saying that importing nurses is non-sense (due to reccession, ofcourse they are now focusing on giving their citizens decent employment). i'll be stuck here serving my people from the apex of my heart without a salary. this is the career that i have chosen and so i will still try to look at it on the brighter side and make the most out of it. if there's some truth about what my friend told me about volunteering then i think i'll just have to go through with it for a year and then take it from there.anyway people learn from their experiences no matter if its a good or bad experience.

mrmiyagi · Sep 24, 2009

i'm a little confused about this certificate thing. some say that seminar certificates are good and some say they are useless. considering i want to increase my chances of being hired in big hospitals here in manila philippines, will basic training or seminar certificates help?

i currently don't even have basic nursing training yet. so i'm hesitant to try to apply in hospitals for work.

medic8 · Sep 24, 2009

@HUshdawg:
OUch! :chuckle im actually one of those certificate collectors attending various seminars and training from some institution who actually says they are recognized by some US organizations. i attend these seminars because i thought that the skills i learned from them will help me land a job abroad, like the mid-east for example, while waiting for the retrogression to be lifted but to no avail most of the agencies here requires the applicant to have atleast one year hospital experience. i'm not sure if being a volunteer will suffice this requirement but earlier a friend told me that they do accept volunteer experience now.
i don't resent attending the seminars/trainings though because i learned a lot from them, specially the ones i attended from an institution who provides certificates that are recognized by some US organization.in fairness to them they follow US standards in teaching us the skills and the providing equipments that we were allowed to have a hands-on practice.i also believe that these skills training helped me in passing the NCLEX-RN.
there are some other options for nurses here in my country like working as a company nurse or a school nurse. again, they require experience and those with experience won't even consider working in these areas because of better opportunities abroad. so for those nurses who like me collected certificates and don't have any hospital experience (because i don't want to volunteer, because i had this impression that volunteering is non-sense waste of time that will not get me anywhere), will still be applying to become a volunteer nurse in the end. its so funny that i've been trying to fight this thing but here i am, i have submitted my application and will be taking the examination to become a volunteer nurse in a hospital here in our province. i will become in a few weeks or months time, one of the reasons why hospitals have been very abusive of us nurses. it is very clear that these hospitals need more staff nurses due to the fact that the nurse patient ratio is atleast 1:10, but they don't, even if the applicants are very much competent and capable, because they take advantage of those willing to volunteer and work without pay. in this way the hospital earn more revenue.
i really can't believe that im giving in to this crap. well i guess since i can't be in the US anytime soon even though i already have my US license due to retrogression and Obama saying that importing nurses is non-sense (due to reccession, ofcourse they are now focusing on giving their citizens decent employment). i'll be stuck here serving my people from the apex of my heart without a salary. this is the career that i have chosen and so i will still try to look at it on the brighter side and make the most out of it. if there's some truth about what my friend told me about volunteering then i think i'll just have to go through with it for a year and then take it from there.anyway people learn from their experiences no matter if its a good or bad experience.

there are companies that hire company nurses without experience... but it is an advantage if you have the BOSH training and BLS and first aid. just be assertive and be confident in applying. :up:

Hushdawg · Sep 25, 2009

@HUshdawg:
OUch! :chuckle im actually one of those certificate collectors attending various seminars and training ...
... i don't resent attending the seminars/trainings though because i learned a lot from them, specially the ones i attended from an institution who provides certificates that are recognized by some US organization.in fairness to them they follow US standards in teaching us the skills and the providing equipments that we were allowed to have a hands-on practice.i also believe that these skills training helped me in passing the NCLEX-RN.

That is the right reason to attend seminars: Because you crave to learn what is being taught.

Certificates are not useful in getting jobs in the USA, listing all the seminars you went to in your resume' is not impressive to US employers, it tends to look desperate.

If you have undergone training on specific skills which are needed in the USA, then by all means list those skill trainings in the resume' under the "additional skills" category and have certificates to back them up.

I've been in the Philippines for 2 years helping nurses, I have never seen a company which is genuinely accredited in any way from US institutions; the closest that I've seen is some NCLEX schools which have had curriculum developed by US nursing colleges. Please inform me via PM regarding this institution you are referring to, I'd like to check them out.

there are some other options for nurses here in my country like working as a company nurse or a school nurse. again, they require experience and those with experience won't even consider working in these areas because of better opportunities abroad. so for those nurses who like me collected certificates and don't have any hospital experience (because i don't want to volunteer, because i had this impression that volunteering is non-sense waste of time that will not get me anywhere), will still be applying to become a volunteer nurse in the end.

That is why I'm promoting the NARS program. There are many nurses and nurse advocates pressuring the government to continue the experimental NARS program for 2010 when it comes up for review later this year.

6 months of real, paid government level experience is a good thing. There are also regional governments that have taken up the concept of NARS and have been implementing it as well. You should check with your local barangay, municipality or provincial government body to see what is made available.

it is very clear that these hospitals need more staff nurses due to the fact that the nurse patient ratio is atleast 1:10, but they don't, even if the applicants are very much competent and capable, because they take advantage of those willing to volunteer and work without pay. in this way the hospital earn more revenue.

1:10 is very good compared to some hospitals that I've seen here..

One I visited had 1:40 and still wasn't hiring more nurses!

This is downright criminal.

There is a political activist group called Ang Nars that seeks to create a voting block comprised of the nation's nurses. The head is a former PNA president and she is seeking a seat in Congress to put the voice of nurses directly to the government.

These kinds of pressure points on the government is one way to create real change for nurses in the Philippines.

i really can't believe that im giving in to this crap. well i guess since i can't be in the US anytime soon even though i already have my US license due to retrogression and Obama saying that importing nurses is non-sense (due to reccession, ofcourse they are now focusing on giving their citizens decent employment). i'll be stuck here serving my people from the apex of my heart without a salary. this is the career that i have chosen and so i will still try to look at it on the brighter side and make the most out of it. if there's some truth about what my friend told me about volunteering then i think i'll just have to go through with it for a year and then take it from there.anyway people learn from their experiences no matter if its a good or bad experience.

OK; you have licensure in the USA, that is a good start. Make sure you keep up with your renewal requirements and ensure that you fulfill those before the time comes.

Since you are an NCLEX passer, there are some direct employers (not agencies) which will give you priority for staff positions with US-founded hospitals in the Middle East.

arvicharlie · Sep 28, 2009

@ hushdawg:

"OK; you have licensure in the USA, that is a good start. Make sure you keep up with your renewal requirements and ensure that you fulfill those before the time comes.

Since you are an NCLEX passer, there are some direct employers (not agencies) which will give you priority for staff positions with US-founded hospitals in the Middle East."

could you please provide me some names and contact info of these direct hire employers because i've been looking for these kinds but no luck yet.

arvicharlie · Sep 28, 2009

i'm a little confused about this certificate thing. some say that seminar certificates are good and some say they are useless. considering i want to increase my chances of being hired in big hospitals here in manila philippines, will basic training or seminar certificates help?
i currently don't even have basic nursing training yet. so i'm hesitant to try to apply in hospitals for work.

well, what i can say about trainings, is that its not really a waste of time or money attending various them because you learn a new skill that you may have encountered in college but not given enough time to experience them hands-on. the trainings that most local hospitals are requiring for their applicants are IVT and BLS/ACLS. i already have these plus a couple of others and i've learned that even if you have all sorts of certificates it won't guarantee you will get the job specially if your other competitions have atleast 6 mos. hospital experience even if they are just volunteers. so i'm joining the club into volunteering next month. if you have the money and time to spend on other trainings aside from the 2 essentials i have mentioned earlier then go on there's nothing wrong with attending them like what i said the knowledge and skills you will learn from them might get in handy in the future.

i hope i answeres your query. Good luck! ^_____^ v

arvicharlie · Sep 28, 2009

@ medic28:

thanks for your reply but ive decided to be a volunteer to a hospital near our place. in these way aside from being able to help people i also learn from the experience.

i just hope that one day the nursing situation here in the philippines will get better.

^___________^ v