Nursing as a profession is versatile with endless scope of improvement and gaining knowledge. Making a career as a nurse includes much more than patient care as nurses make a very important pillar of healthcare without which the healthcare sector can be on the verge of collapsing. The decision of choosing a career as a nurse requires constantly competent performance, adherence to code of ethics, and above all, the sense of empathy towards patients, their families and co-workers. It is always said that healthcare workers never stop learning and the deeper they delve into the field, the better they get at the art of multitasking. Managing personal life along with your professional commitments can be a big concern as a nurse but if the priorities and goals are set straight, then pulling all of it together shouldn’t be a botheration. In order to be a successful nurse one needs to qualify multiple levels of education and attain sufficient practical exposure before treating intense cases.
Before proceeding further, ask yourself the most oft stated question “Who is a nurse”? Once you have your thoughts channelized about it, you might want to look at the video below which details the concept of nursing in regards to the experiences offered by the practical learning.
The video above is an original concept of Stanford Health Care and it highlights the different views of multi-cultural nurses at the hospital and what according to them constitutes to be a part of nursing as a concept.
Without a doubt, nursing is the most trusted profession as it’s the basic element of trust on which the patient care thrives and with establishing faith, one can transform healthcare. There can be many ways of building a trustful relationship with your patient. It can begin with a simple communication, the ability to be a good listener and lastly by the way you exercise your medical powers in patient’s best interest. Mostly, patients and family members when enter the healthcare system, get in touch with their nurses, they are vulnerable and seeking hidden answers, so winning their unshakable faith is a victory above all others.
Compassion and thoughtfulness are certainly two more parameters on which your career as a nurse can be evaluated. Persuading the patients to take care of their eating habits, withdrawing their attention subtly from a botheration, and convincing them to make the right call for their health are a few things which go unnoticed but often play the most essential role in maintaining a positive patient-nurse relationship.
HOW TO BE A REGISTERED NURSE IN PHILIPPINES
Being a nurse brings loads of responsibility, irrespective of the country you’re working in. However, the demographic structure does affect the working style and living conditions which eventually leaves an impact on your professional space too. If you’re planning to be a registered nurse in Philippines, then you must know a few prerequisites about being a nurse in Philippines.
1. In order to be a registered nurse in Philippines, you must graduate in a credible nursing program like Bachelors of Science in Nursing.
2. Usually, the courses are 3-4 years long and provide you with the much required and detailed knowledge about nursing skills, health promotion, disease prevention, risk reduction, patient care and much more that you need to know in order to be practically treating a patient.
3. Once you have graduated a nursing program and passed the examination conducted by the country board, you are entitled to be a Registered Nurse (RN) in Philippines.
4. After being a registered nurse, you can explore a variety of employment opportunities around you. One can also apply for global nursing programs as studying courses with international recognition further helps to broaden the scope of getting better job opportunities.
5. A registered nurse is eligible to apply for jobs in public and private hospitals, nursing institutions, and one can also be an independent nurse practitioner and open up a clinic of their own.
However, as important as it gets to know about the criteria of being an RN, it is equally important to know the repercussions which come along if any candidate or a student violates the law and carries out nursing as a profession without confirming to be a registered nurse in the country.
The General Practice Board of Nursing states that a fine of minimum ten thousand pesos (P10, 000.00) and a maximum of forty thousand pesos (P40, 000.00) can be levied on any defaulter who:
• Uses an expired certificate of registration to practice nursing
• Uses his/her certificate of registration for any third party
• Uses a forged certificate of being registered as a nurse and
• Takes multiple classes for domestic and foreign programs at the same time without a permit.
*Source: Professional regulation commission Philippines
Also, in some of the cases, there is a clear possibility of being imprisoned for 1-6 years for violating the provisions of the professional regulation commission.
CAREER PROSPECTS FOR REGISTERED NURSES
Being a nurse in Philippines can open a gateway of opportunities both on domestic and global front. Once you get an examination clearance and practice license from the board, you can explore end number of job opportunities in your choice of specialization. However, the fact remains intact that on a domestic front, approximately 2, 00,000 registered Filipino nurses are struggling to find jobs due to the saturating markets in the country. The international standards set by the developed nations have massively impacted the job opportunities and scope of growth in countries like Philippines and India.
On a comparative note, a registered nurse in Philippines is entitled to receive an annual sum of PHP 170,723 while the annual salary of an RN in a developed nation like Canada amounts to $58,832. Mentioned below are a few payrolls from different nations having a high demand for nurses. The differences in payrolls are impactful and convincing enough to make nurses migrate to the developed nations in search of better employment opportunities.
Source: Payscale.com
Apart from the fixed salaries stated above, there is a potential chance of making additional money on your busy months where you tend to report for extra hours than your routine shifts. Nurses are often asked to work in extra shifts due to the unavailability of sufficient trained nurses.
Well, apart from the financial prospects being thoroughly considered, it is important to understand that a nurse can help in improving the patient care only if he/she is satisfied with their job roles and the status being provided to them. In certain developing nations, many a times, nurses are seen facing a tough time in order to attain the much deserved recognition and respect from patients and co-workers. This can be one of the prime reasons for nurses to look opportunities abroad. There comes a point of stagnation where every field of specialization faces a situation of disparity between the demand and supply of nurses. Usually, excessive demand creates a shortage of nurses and when the supply shoots up to fill the gap, it overpowers the demand in consideration.
INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Moving on to the international employment scope for Filipino nurses, it is extremely important to know that till date Philippines is one of the leading supplier of nurses to the developed nations. Pick the data reports of Australia, USA, Canada, New Zealand or any other developed nation for that matter and you will find a bunch of Filipinos making a majority of the nursing population. Majorly, nurses from Philippines consider moving to Canada for better opportunities and an improved quality of lifestyle. There can be different routes towards reaching the end goal but one of the most though of and simple way is to study specialized nursing programs in Canada and learn the importance of different nursing techniques and their requirement in the country. Once you study the practices of patient care being followed in a country, you become well-equipped and trained to treat the patients in the best of their interests.
However, one thing which remains intact is the need to have a fluency in speaking, writing and understanding English language so that the barriers of communication between the nurse and patient don’t affect the treatment process.
Apart from the language proficiency there are also a few things which affect the eligibility of a nurse from Philippines to study nursing programs in Canada. It is important to be a university graduate from a recognized university board/college of your country and also one must clear the RN exam from Philippines in order to be able to move to Canada and practice nursing. The reason why Canada is the most preferred location to relocate for Filipino nurses is because this year Canada will accept 250,000 applications, along with a special consideration for those making an addition to the healthcare sector.
Apart from Canada, UK too has emerged to be a preferred choice for nurses planning to migrate from Philippines. The country has been falling short of nurses and healthcare personnel which has widened the scope of employment for nurses coming from India, Philippines and South Africa. The fact that the population of old people with multiple long term illnesses has increased in the country is a major contributing factor to the high demand of nurses in UK. However, the exact details about working as a nurse in UK can be made clear once a person actually experiences it themselves but for now, here we have a quick video of three Filipino nurses who share their working experience straight from Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. The video explains about the difference in wages, working environment, sense of respect for the profession and a lot many things which one needs to keep in mind before making a move.
If a decision of migrating to a foreign land in search of opportunities is made with all the just and fair points being considered then it can be highly fulfilling and inch you closer to the vision of being a global nurse. In terms of financial benefits for nurses in their native country and those in foreign lands, it is an openly accepted fact that nurses in Philippines are underpaid as per the efforts and services they put in their job. In spite of the challenging studies and curricular, there is no guaranteed employment opportunities in their homeland which justifies their calling to move abroad. Licensed healthcare professionals in developed nations are given a much needed recognition for their services and also the compensations granted are more than satisfactory.
MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE
In situations related to choosing a career path for yourself, there is no clearly ”right” or “wrong” path to be chosen as each one of these paths come with their own set of limitations and advantages. What matters is that how you prioritize the different aspects of growth and development which could help you in the long run. So here’s a quick piece of advice about making the right decision.
Just think about what you want to do and then put a little more stress on “WHY” you want to do it and you shall find the weightage of your opinions lying right there. So, in terms of considering the gateway of opportunities one can open by being a registered nurse in Philippines, it is important to make the right choices ahead of you as it’s with these choices of yours that your identity as a nurse will shape up. In the field of nursing, the more you grow the critical are the cases you have to deal with. So, make a strong mind an uninterrupted focus and continue to work towards finding the ideal opportunities for yourself. Whether it is your native land or it is an array of opportunities in a foreign land, analyze all the prospects it has to offer and make the right choice.
