September 16, 2004
When I was a kid, I used to dream of becoming a Nurse. Right now, I don’t have vivid recollection of the rationale behind this childhood fantasy. What I could only remember, whenever people asked me of what I would want to be when I grow up, my immediate answer would be, “I want to become a nurse when I grow up so I can help the doctor cure the sick.” This was even my answer when I joined the Little Ms. Philippines in 1987 (Oh well, another fantasy of every child – to become a “superstar”). Unfortunately, that childhood fantasy (of becoming a nurse) remained a fantasy. I pursued a different career and had never imagined myself as a nurse. How about those people of my age who have dreamed of becoming a nurse and actually pursued that dream?
Most of us would want to have good life. We want to have a better-paying job wherein we can earn quite enough or enough to buy something else aside from necessities. Nurse in the Philippines is that sector of the labor class that gets a low-paying job. At Manila Central University, the starting pay for Nurses is at P 6 ,000 – P7,000 a month (this is according to my cousin who works there as a nurse). Compared to the salary the nurses get abroad, the amount nurses in the country gets is extremely small. Hence, the enticement of going abroad is almost in every nurse’s mind. Just imagine that nurses in the US are paid at $40 per hour (around P2, 200). For an 8 hr work, a nurse based in the US will get around P17600 per day that is almost three times their monthly salary. Hence, nurses from the country who are qualified to work abroad would dare themselves to work away from their motherland and bring home a better-off lifestyle for their families.
For this reason, the nursing fever goes on. Non-nursing degree holders who still don’t have work are now venturing into nursing career. They either enroll for a BS in Nursing degree or a short-course in care giving or nursing assistance. In addition to this, some of those incoming college students and college students are thinking of enrolling/shifting to BS Nursing. The most threatening cause of this nursing fever is the trend of doctors enrolling in Nursing just to go abroad and get higher pay. These things really disturb me so much. I don’t want to envision a scenario wherein Filipinos die because no nurse and doctors can attend to them. That’s extremely horrible. Just imagine that those nurses and doctors that are left in the country are not as good as those abroad. Where left with a damaged Health Industry (few in numbers and possible to be incompetent).
My aunt is currently working abroad as a head nurse. She used to teach at UST. She’s relatively a good nurse and professor to future nurses. I feel like she is a great loss in the nursing industry. But then, she’s giving better future and life to her sons. However, it is unfortunate for our motherland that an asset like her is serving other nation. Our whole family has an idea how much she’s earning abroad. With this, my cousin is now tempted to undertake a short course in nursing assistance to enable her apply abroad. She believes that there isn’t any future at stake for her in the country. According to her, in the US even if you haven’t finished any course as long as you’re hardworking, you will be able to succeed and get high pay.
It’s sad yet true. There are a lot of people with the same notion like that of my aunt and cousin. These people have simply lost their hope for the country and finding hope for themselves in other country. They see nursing as an opportunity for recuperating. It’s a given fact that each one of us would want to have a better life. However, we also have to think of other people that might be greatly affected by our decisions. While we are fostering ourselves, it is our responsibility to oversee if we are stepping on other people. These people who dream of giving a better future for themselves and their families through nursing away from home unconsciously step on that larger part of the society. They have unconsciously forgotten that escape from the reality has resulted to damaging the country’s medical industry. Practically cuts down our capacity to think with consideration of other people’s interests. Sometimes, we slowly attain the point that we become selfish. Because of too much passion for our own career growth, we tend to just center our attention to those that can benefit us (I myself is guilt of this).
We can already feel the problem of shortage of nurses in the country. At present, newly graduate nurses apply/work for local hospitals not because they wanted to serve for a long period. Rather, they are there to get experience to qualify for nursing opportunities abroad. Due to this, hospital administration is forced to provide applicants with contract under a long-term employment agreement to avoid being left hanging. Although the intention is noble, this intensified the shortage in nurses. Newly graduate nurses are not anymore interested to apply in local hospitals due to the fear of being tied with the contract they will be provided. Working for a local hospital might delay or even hinder their venture abroad. Hence, I wouldn’t be surprised if one day I’ll be brought to the hospital I’ll suffer from pain without any doctor or nurse attending to me.
I believe we could somehow contribute in easing this problem that our country is currently confronting. We have to try to make these people realize that there are a lot of opportunities awaiting them in the country. This may not be as vast and as extravagant as what they could get abroad but their contribution to the country and its people is very much essential. Let us try to convince nurses and non-nurses who plan to study and run away from the country not to Nurse away from home.
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