St.

Paul College of Ilocos Sur

(Member: St. Paul University System)
St. Paul Avenue, 2727 Bantay, Ilocos Sur

DEPARTMENT OF NURSING

Name: Charina Aubrey Riodil Instructor: Melanio P. Rojas Jr MAN Score: ____________
Section/Year Level: BSN-II Serviteurs Defenseurs De Saint Joseph Date: March. 04, 2020
Agency: Ilocos Sur Provincial Hospital – Gabriela Silang/ Week No. 2_

Organization 25 %
Content 50%
Grammar 10%
Relevance of 15%
the topic in
Nursing
Total 100%

How the Philippines created a Global Network of Nurses?

From Chicago to London, you are bound to find Filipino nurses working in

hospitals across the globe. It comes as no surprise, as The Philippines is the largest

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exporter of nurses in the world – out of the 2.2 million Overseas Filipino Workers

(OFWs), 25% commit their lives to caring for others.

The Colonial Connection

The high influx of Filipino nurses in highly developed countries actually has a deep

historical background. Under the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the United States of America

acquired many Spanish colonies including the Philippines. Under the Americans,

Filipinos were assimilated to American culture through education, particularly by

teaching English. This started the American dream of many locals. During the malaria

and cholera outbreak, there was a shortage of American nurses in the Philippines.

Thus, local women were recruited to become Volunteer Auxiliary Contract Nurses.

In 1903, by virtue of the Pensionado Act, qualified Filipino students were sent to the

U.S. to study, including the volunteer auxiliary contract nurses. This became the first

batch of Filipino nurses coming to the United States. Some stayed behind as

immigrants, inspiring their families back in the Philippines to go the U.S. This started the

waves of nurses from the Philippines, living the American dream.

During the Second World War, Filipino nurses played major roles in helping wounded

soldiers. With Filipinos’ familiarity with the American culture, specifically their ability to

speak their language, these new immigrant foreign workers easily adjusted to their new

home.

The nursing diaspora

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As countries saw a shortage of nurses and the cost-effectiveness of hiring of Filipinos

rather than training their own nurses locally, other countries began hiring nurses from

the Philippines. Saudi Arabia became the leading destination for Filipino nurses.

European countries also tapped Filipino labor for their health care, with Filipinos working

as nurses in Germany, the U.K. and Ireland. Neighboring countries like Singapore and

Japan also began hiring Filipino nurses.

A lot of Filipino families view the nursing profession abroad as the ticket to better life –

as seen in more than 500 nursing schools in the Philippines today. A nurse’s salary

abroad is 15 times bigger than working in local hospitals in the Philippines.

For many Filipinos, being a nurse makes it easy to become a professional foreign

worker – there is less competition from the local workforce and other foreign workers.

Working abroad as a nurse is also more profitable compared to other jobs held by

Filipinos like domestic helpers and construction workers.

With American-standard nurse training, English fluency and the innate nature of

Filipinos to care for the elderly and sick family members, Filipinos fit the bill for nursing.

A country with different dialects and a culture formed from different cultural influences,

Filipinos are adept in adjusting to new cultures as well as learning new languages.

Employers also like that fact that Filipinos won’t mind taking longer hours, hoping to

earn more money to send back home.

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OFWs are highly prized resources in the Philippines with their remittances helping the

local economy. Former president Ferdinand Marcos seized an opportunity, exporting

labor to the Middle East. The government also set up government agencies to help

protect Filipinos working abroad. Today, OFWs give up to $28 billion to the Philippine

government in the form of remittances.

The past decade saw a big boom for the nursing industry with schools offering up to 29

sections for their nursing classes. Like any bubble industry, the local nursing industry

also faced problems like surplus of nurses eligible to work abroad and the shortage of

adept nursing staff in local hospitals in the country. Still, the nursing industry is not

hampered by these challenges as Filipinos continue to leave the Philippines for greener

pastures working the hospitals.

INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, it is very common to see most of the people from my home

country wishing to work overseas. The question is why most of the Filipinos have the

urge to work abroad? The demand for Filipino registered nurses abroad was so high

and the success stories of those who ventured out were so many, that no one could

avoid the thought of considering a career as a registered nurse. Those already on other

careers even shifted their paths. And so the dream to work abroad and earn a very

good salary continued for many years and expanded too many related fields.

BODY
Nursing is a challenging job and issues arise that are out of your control. Some

are direct results of communication and interactions amongst Nurses. Being short

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staffed this can bring professional and personal issues. When a hospital is short-staffed,

you’re left with no other option but to take on more shifts, cover for your co-nurses’

absences, and miss out on important life occasions. Social life can suffer, too. Short

staffing is one of the most common reasons why nurses experience burnout. Nursing is

already a stressful job and not having enough time to relax and care for yourself can

make you feel more frustrated and unsatisfied with your job. When long shift, nurses are

often required to work more long hours. It can be due to the hospital being short-staffed

or management cutting costs. The salary compensations Nurses receive depend on

many factors. Aside from specialty, their place of work tends to affect the salary they

get, as well. Having a higher degree counts as well. Salary is a common reason why

Nurses leave a hospital. Discrimination also arise isn’t an entirely new thing. In fact, this

has been around for ages. Being a new Nurse is intimidating and you have to adjust too

many new things. Apart from the skills you have to gain, you also have to learn how to

cope with how the Nursing system in your hospital works. Unfortunately, not all veteran

Nurses are that welcoming. These attitudes tend to dull the enthusiasm of new Nurses

enough to make them question themselves if they made the right career choice. You

are all on the same team, strengthen your team by welcoming new Nurses and being a

little more patient with them. Working in the hospital puts nurses in a lot of work

hazards. Take, for example, being exposed to infected body fluids. Apart from that,

lifting patients of all sizes can also put your safety at risk. Nurses also have to deal with

sharps and needles and running on slippery floors during emergencies. Like all

professions and disciplines, nursing is influenced by, and must respond to global trends

needs, challenges, and opportunities. These strategies will influence and shape the

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future of the nursing community and health care nationally and internationally. Also in a

global committee health care exhibit problems some of which are political, educational,

educational, nursing, environment and social issues. Therefore, improving and

achieving health in a global community is of great concern to the nursing profession.

Hence, health and healing varies across countries and culture, the pursuit of healthy

individuals and communities is a universal goal. Nurses can be advocate, educator, and

counsellor.

CONCLUSION
There are many other reasons why many Filipinos want or need to work abroad.

Some of these reasons are personal, others are financial, and there are also reasons

that are only temporal. Although working abroad is very rewarding, there are also a

number of disadvantages in working in the foreign lands, such as the loneliness of being

away from your family, discrimination from overseas employers, and the high cost of

living abroad.

SUGGESTIONS OF IMPROVEMENT:
 Our Nurses fully deserve pay increase because they are comparable to our

soldiers and teachers. Both professions are answerable to our people in

maintaining strong healthy citizens for a prosperous nation.

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