The Nursing Profession Under Siege

To be a nurse or not to be?

An estimated 187,000 Filipino nurses are unemployed. The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) says these nurses are competing for some 70,000 nursing positions in private and public hospitals. But as if that were not enough, the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) admits the problem of unemployment in the nursing profession may just have gotten bigger.

According to PNA President Dr. Tita Barcelo.

After studying for four years, is this what we will hear from PNA? I bet any new graduate will be frustrated once they learn that a lot of nurses are underpaid, working in other industries or not working at all. It breaks my heart to see jobless nurses because I was once jobless. It took me six months to get into a paid training and another 3 months to find a Job. I was paid 6000 pesos which was not not enough to sustain my daily needs:

(In Php)

Rent - 2000

Food - 2000

Transportation Allowance - 1000

Toiletries - 300

Hanging out with Friends - 700

Savings - 0.00

There are times when I would still ask extra allowance from my parents. I was really ashamed of my self and told my self that there will be a time when I will be earning a lot and will be proud of my profession. Years passed and I was able to set my feet abroad. I started earning around seven times my previous salary but still has no savings. I tried to believe that when your salary increased, your lifestyle changes also. I was wrong, and I mean very wrong. 

POEA exec: With 'no new grads' policy, future of Pinoy nurses in US seems bleak

ANDREI MEDINA, GMA NewsJanuary 16, 2013 5:20pm

With the supposed “no new nursing grads” policy of United States hospitals, a Philippine Overseas Employment Adminstration (POEA) official said US job prospects currently seem bleak for Filipino nurses.

“There has been progression of eb3 visa for entry of foreign nurses.” POEA Deputy Administrator Libby Casco told GMA News Online in an email on Wednesday.

According to the US Embassy website, eb3 visas are presented to people who have job offers in the US.

Casco issued the statement when sought for comment on a CNN report saying  new registered nurses "are coming across thousands of job postings with an impossible requirement: no new grads."

"It's a problem well documented by the nursing industry. About 43% of newly licensed RNs still do not have jobs within 18 months after graduation, according to a survey conducted by the American Society of Registered Nurses," CNN reported.

Casco explained that the "the trend is expected to continue under the current scenario and therefore presents bleak prospects for our nurses,” she continued.

She attributed the US nursing jobs scenario to "retrogression," meaning that no visas are available for foreign nurses to enter and work in the US due to oversubscription.

“The policy of US employers is a result of the recession where employers stop new hiring and maintain existing employment of it's nursing staff,” Casco said.

“With the tight labor market because of stiff competition of fresh  grads and experienced nurses also looking for jobs, they would naturally prefer someone with experience,” she continued.

Top destination of Pinoy nurses

In 2010, Saudi Arabia was the top destination of Filipinos with 8513 nurses deployed to that country.

The second top destination, UAE lags behind with only a mere 473 nurses deployed according to data from the POEA.

This statistic was confirmed by Marc Dupaya, a recruitment Manager of staffing provider Abba Personnel Services in another interview with GMA News Online.

“The top destinations for Filipino nurses is the Middle East with Saudi and the UAE leading the market,” Dupaya said.

On the other hand, only 83 nurses were sent to the US during that year.

Dupaya said that demands for nurses in the US and Canada have slowed down since 2006.

43% unemployment rate

Meanwhile, the CNN report said 43 percent of fresh graduate nurses in the US have not landed a job upon 18 months of receiving their license.

“The process has become more and more discouraging, especially since hospitals want RNs with experience, yet nobody is willing to give us this experience,” nursing job seeker Ronak Soliemannjad told CNN.

Being hired as a fresh graduate is nearly impossible even though health care is one of the largest sectors for job growth in the US since the recession.

The same recession which drove health care job growth up is also the reason for the difficulty that fresh nursing graduates who are looking for jobs in the US are experiecing according to Peter Buerhaus.

Buerhaus is a registered nurse and economist teaching at the anderbilt University School of Nursing. He co-authored a paper showing the statistics of the nursing market when the economy is weak.

73,000 nurses resigned each year due to various reasons such as childbearing and retirement before the recession.

However, the recession forced this figure to change dramatically due to financial uncertainty faced by the American workforce.

900,000 to retire this decade

However, Buerhaus is expecting another nursing shortage in the near future because older nurses are scheduled to retire within the decade and baby boomers are expected to need more health care services.

He noted that almost 900,000 nurses in the US are over the age of 50.

For Dupaya, she is skeptical whether this number of retirees in the US will be sufficient to curb the need of jobs by Filipino nurses.

“It's a good thing but there are 72,000 to 75,000 newly licensed nurses in the Philippines per year,” she pointed out.

“These are just the newly licensed nurses in the Philippine,” Dupaya reiterated.

The Philippines sent 12,082 nurses overseas in 2010 based on POEA statistical data. - VVP, GMA News

Earn, Save, Invest then Earn some more.. Delayed Gratification: Let your money grow.

Inspiring video for the Filipinos out there who think they have nothing. I've watched this video from ANC: On the Money several times. I hope that most of us will learn from this video:

How do we feel about ourselves? Do we really think that we are much more of a person when we spend all our earnings on gadgets and luxurious stuffs? Why do most OFWs suffer financially later in their life? Do we want to be one of THEM? or Will we save now and have a better future for ourselves and our families?

Earn, Save, Invest then Earn some more.. Delayed Gratification: Let your money grow.

Room Nurses by Cynthia Villar

Winnie Monsod:
Nung kayo po ay nasa Kongreso, Kayo ay naging chaiman ng Committee on education, at noong panahon na iyon, 2005-2006, nagkaroon ng malaking kontrobersya, kasi yung Comission on highed education gustong isara ang 23 nursing schools sapagkat ang dami dami nilang walang kalidad, at tsaka nasasayang lang yung pera ng mga nursing students tapos hindi sila makapasa ng professional regulatory exam or yung tinatawag na NCLEX. Nung ginawa ito ng CHED, mukhang nag-intervene po ang kongreso, sa iyo, yung committee on education at humihingi kayo ng dialogue. Ang bottom line, is that walang nasara na eskwela. And as a result,nag-resign po si Chairman Fr. Rolando Dela Rosa, nag-resign ang buong technical committee on nursing education. Ngayon, ang question ko, it seems nag-side po kayo sa side ng business, sa mga owners ng school. At tsaka hindi niyo pinakinggan yung mga kailangan magawa para sa mga nursing students na nawalan na ng pera, hindi naman sila pwedeng pumasa. Now how, Cong.Villar, can you reconcile itong parang seeming disconnect between yung desire ninyo to help the poor at tsaka yung pagpanig niyo sa mga owners ng mga educational institutions na gustong isara ng technical nursing committee at tsaka yung CHED?

Cynthia Villar:
Maraming salamat mareng winnie i want to explain that situation to you, hindi naman ganoon ang istorya noon. Ang nangyari noon, binigyan nila ng permit yung mga schools to open, ng CHED. Tapos gusto nila ipasara, nakapag-invest na yung mga may-ari ng schools sa mga kanilang facilities. And then, sinasabi nila na kaya daw nila gustong ipasara dahil walang tertiary hospital, kasi sa mga nursing school to, na where they can train. Ang sinasabi namin noon, hindi naman po kami kumokontra sa CHED, ang sinasabi namain, kasi tinignan namin yung syllabus, yung mga courses na kunin nila, and then nakita namin na after lang, sa third year kailangan nila yung tertiary hospital so ni-request namin na hindi nalang ipasara yung pre-nursing, yung first two years. (end of timer)

Winnie Monsod:
Follow-up question nalang po ano, ha? Ay kung ganoon pala ang istorya, bakit bumaba pa ang mga nurses na-employ sa abroad, kasi hindi sila qualified? In other words, if it's only a matter of investment, bakit po hindi sila ma-employ employ? At bakit po nag-resign ang technichal nursing education committee, at tsaka nag-resign after only 7 months in office? Do you think they just did not understand?

Cynthia Villar:
No, yung pag-reresign po ni father is a personal quarrel with the owner of a school. Medyo personal po yun. Pero yung amin po, ay sinasabi po namin sa kanila na actually, HINDI NAMAN KAILANGAN ANG NURSE AY MATAPOS NG BSN, kasi itong ating mga nurses, GUSTO LANG NILA MAGING "ROOM NURSE." Sa America or sa other countries, ano lang sila, YUNG PARANG MANG-AALAGA. HINDI NAMAN SILA KAILANGAN GANOON KAGALING. kasi sa ibang country (end of timer)

"Pagsubok ng mga Kandidato-Part 2"
Airing Date: February 23, 2013
GMA News TV-11

Do we want to be called Room Nurses?

Nurses’ group slams Cynthia Villar’s ‘room nurse’ tag

By ANDREO CALONZO, GMA NEWSMarch 6, 2013 6:55pm


The Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) on Wednesday said it “strongly detests” the “room nurse” label used by senatorial candidate Cynthia Villar in a debate.

The association, which claims to have over 360,000 members nationwide, said the nursing curriculum in the country “aims to produce a holistic professional nurse.”

“While some of our countrymen equate nursing to patient care or home care, we want to emphasize to them that patient care or home care is only one aspect of our profession, while maintaining the integrity and dignity of Filipino nurses,” the group said in a statement signed by its board of governors.

Villar had apologized for the controversial statement she made on national television two weeks ago.

During the program, Villar said that some nursing students did not have to finish their undergraduate degrees if they wanted to be “room nurses” abroad.

In her apology, the senatorial candidate said she did not have time to elaborate on her statement due to time constraints. She also said she had written a letter apologizing to and seeking dialog with the PNA.

The PNA, for its part, said it is “challenged” by Villar’s statements to “promote and protect the integrity” of the nursing profession.

It likewise urged Filipino nurses “to continue with their good work and in making a difference as they touch lives.”

What went before

In September 2004, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), then led by Fr. Rolando dela Rosa, ordered nursing schools offering nursing courses to comply with all the commission’s requirements in order for them to be accredited.

The CHED’s directive was prompted by the proliferation of supposedly substandard nursing schools whose students perform poorly in licensure exams.

A school must meet four requirements to be able to offer a nursing program: a dean with a postgraduate nursing degree, faculty members with master’s degrees, adequate facilities such as a library and a laboratory, and its own or a partner tertiary base hospital for its students’ hands-on training.

In 2005, Dela Rosa requested 23 schools to stop its nursing courses as they failed to meet the CHED’s requirements. The directive was opposed by the supposedly substandard educational institutions.

The House committee on higher and technical education, then chaired by Villar, called congressional hearings to intercede and deal with the matter.

During the hearings, some lawmakers reportedly criticized CHED for its supposed “abuses” and “injustice” against the nursing schools, which had invested in their nursing programs.

Villar, in a statement, explained that her committee sought to give some students who wanted to become caregivers the option to be given certifications on completing the first two years of their courses. Those who opt to continue their trainings in hospitals can continue their courses too.

At the height of the controversy, Dela Rosa stepped down as CHED chairperson, citing “personal reasons” and “conflict with his priestly ministry.” The Philippine Daily Inquirer, citing an unnamed source, however reported that the official quit his post due to pressure from some lawmakers who threatened to cut the commission’s 2005 budget if the nursing schools were shut down.

Villar, for her part, said these issues were already beyond purview. She said she had no power over CHED or the nursing schools during her stint as a congresswoman. — DVM, GMA News

PESOS AND SENSE: HELPFUL FOR BEGGINERS!

An Article copied from pesosandsense.com! Thanks for making Filipino OFWs aware.

The Social Cost of Investing

One of the most common excuses we hear from people who never get started to invest is “Next time na lang, when I have extra money.”

This was also Pong’s excuse when Ping encouraged him to invest as well. (Read their story again here: How to Use Time to Make Millions)

Let us take a look at why Pong never got to invest early.

Pong is such a social person. He never missed lunch-outs with his officemates where they bond at different restaurants. He spent around P200 a day for this.

It may seem small, but that P200 when multiplied by 5 working days is P1000 a week. P1000 multiplied by 4 weeks is P4000 a month which he can already use to save and invest. This is a classic example of a ninja expense we discussed here: Ninja Expenses

Because Pong never made a deliberate decision to invest and adjust his lifestyle, he started investing really late. What happened was whenever his income increased, his spending followed too!

What is the social cost investing?

Even though Pong wanted to start investing like Ping, he cannot say no to the bonding time with his officemates. He also cannot afford not to have the latest Apple gadget in its first week of release.

The feeling of being left out and not having the latest gadgets are some of the examples of what we call the social cost of investing.

When you already know what to do, have all the time and money to invest, this will prevent you from investing regularly.

We Filipinos are very social people like Pong. We love doing things together! Our social calendar never runs out of things to do – Valentine’s, vacations, birthdays, family reunions, and weekly get-togethers. Because of this, we also never run out of things to spend money on.

Can you not join the summer vacation in order to save and invest? Ping did!

If Ping can do it, so can you!

Ever since Ping started investing, he has lived a totally different lifestyle from Pong.

To adjust to investing lifestyle, Ping brought packed lunch to the office instead of eating out.

While Pong was having fun at the beach during summer, Ping stayed at home and continued his financial education by reading books and articles regarding personal finance and investments.

Whenever the latest Apple gadget came out, Ping did not replace his old phone just to be “in” and buy something that depreciates in value.

We all know how this story ended – all of Ping’s sacrifices paid off. Take a look at Ping’s retirement fund.

Ping’s retirement fund is thrice the amount of Pong’s!

We are not saying that spending on “fun” things is bad and we should deprive ourselves just to save and invest. We just like to remind everyone to keep things in moderation, because unless we make a deliberate decision to invest, we will never get started.

Overseas Filipino Worker's Mindset

An Inspiring Article from Mr. Francis Salvador from maginvestkapinoy.com

There are people I disagree with, with some people come up and face me to tell me that they do. It is ok. I don’t mind. I am happy on who I am and I believe what is reasonable to maintain what I have now I will uphold it. I have big aspirations in life and never a day I stopped telling myself I will be one and never I stopped acting like one. I may be assertive, I may be a bully but people will agree that the longer they stay with me I change the way they walk their lives for the better.

Some things I will surely lie so we will not end up disagreeing. I know what society expects from an OFW. Pasensya po, hindi kami namumulot ng pera kung saan man kami naroroon.

1. Friend, pautang naman o!
I have been in the business of lending years back. I had gains and losses in the business and I am quite efficient running it. I stopped running the business for the reasons I hate asking people money when they don’t. So it would be a wrong Idea to ask anything from me now when I have stopped lending to people. If we are friends and not lending you anything will break up our relationship, I rather break our relationship now than lending you money if it would be difficult for you to pay me back. Same thing will still happen, friendship will still be broken if it does. So live with it. I don’t like lending people money. Period.

My advice, live your life according to your means and do not try spending into something thinking that other people will take care of your expenses in case you can’t pay.

Anyway, If you do live a life beyond your means, stop it. You will end up borrowing more from your friends, and the more you don’t pay you will unceremoniously lose them one by one. It is more costly to gain people’s trust than losing it. Like a rare commodity, so as your friends. Sooner or later when you run out of people to help, you'll surely be in deep s***.


2. Oi, Nasaan pasalubong ko?
I have a golden rule on my aircraft baggage. 7 kilos handcarry and 15 kilos for check-in. If your things can fit in. Good. If not, sorry. Anyway, I hate breaking promises to people that is why nobody has any idea when I will be back home except from my mom. If the stuff I would bring is available to the destination I will go. Likely I will leave it. I am not a fan of balikbayan boxes either. It costs $100 and at that amount can fly myself roundtrip when budget airlines go on sale. I give free hugs and kisses though. ^_^

I don’t like the way that neighbors are expecting something from you when you show up as if you owe them something, especially if they never were good neighbors anyway. You give something to one of them other people will be jealous.


3. Oi Libre naman dyan o!
There is nothing grand when I show up in my hometown. I don’t like spending for someone else’s booze. Sorry, it is not healthy. I have seen how society patronizes OFW’s that gives grand parties when they go back home and they should be good examples. Pista ba ito? Sorry I don’t subscribe to that. Most of the times I am already at my hometown it takes time for people to learn that I am actually there, and when they do, I already left.


4. Uy, nasa <insert your country here> ka pala. Yung <insert relation here> ko pala ay <insert their course or job here>, baka meron naman trabaho sa company mo?
Ok first things first. I work in an <inert your career here> field. If it is not related to my field, I really have no idea what to give you. I do give pointers on how to get a job abroad. Very detailed instructions, but I will leave your decision on how you will do it, yet, bear in mind that all life changing ventures does come with a cost and no one is privy to my wallet. I went abroad without anyone’s assistance. I gambled and I tried hard to find my way here both by sheer determination and relatively huge sum of money. I will show you the way if you are really determined to do it. I cannot help you in your finances and accommodation though.


5. Heart stabbing but very classic one-liners.
a. Ang damot mo naman!
b. Hindi mo madadala ang pera mo sa langit!
c. Masamang mahalin ang pera...




a. Heard this a couple of times especially if you won’t budge giving out something. Anyway, I do pay close attention to hygiene especially when I did have a long battle with athlete’s foot. You will never get to borrow my shoes, nippers or nail cutters. I will watch you screaming in pain while you’re having an ingrown nail. Tell me I am evil. I don’t care. Screw you, you will never get my nipper. Nah ah. Buy these yourself. You will climb a mountain to borrow my power tools, hammer, tape, pliers, screwdrivers, air pump, metal grinders, computer... oh well. too long to mention. I would rather say everything that I cannot watch over. These things never leave my side because most likely I would run a mile fetching these from the people who borrowed and when things get spoiled you’ll likely going to hear from me. Better not, buy these things yourself. Try investing these things for yourself. I hate borrowing that’s why I bought these for myself.

b. Sad reasoning, I don’t think I will die anytime soon, and neither you will, and in most case, you will repeat the same words to other people while you never spend time fixing your own life. I still got a long way to go to live on planet earth and whatever I have now will go to spend for a difficult time of retirement. Nobody can predict the future I agree, but whatever the future holds, you will still spend or others will have to spend for you. Mind you, even your coffin is not free and neither does your burial site. Truth to be told that, really, you cannot bring your wealth in heaven, but please, do not leave this world with the people you left behind getting nothing or rather, broke. Change the mindset. Even if you die, you will still need money.

c. Agreed! You should not love money. I had a couple of arguments and they shot this back at me. Oh please. I am not in love with my wallet. The moment I receive my salary I spend it right away. Within minutes my entire salary for the month is dissolved. I put it in the stock market or other investments and I don’t give a damn whether it will lose value or win. I don’t keep my money under the pillow nor let it sit on the bank. I spend it either for my experience or education and both are really expensive. If you think experience and education is expensive, try ignorance.

I strongly believe I don’t love money because if I do, I will be a slave of it. I am not enslaved by my assets because I own them, I am paid in full. I don’t have unpaid monthly credit on my card, no mortgage on my car, house and other properties. Debt free life is fun I tell you. Owning things is a lot more fun than things you have owning you instead.

If you are buried in credit, try to work hard to unshackle yourself from it. The harder the credit situation you have and yet you will be able to win it, you will surely reap the rewards. Masamang mahalin ang pera, hindi mo dapat mahalin ang pera. Pero hindi masamang mahalin ka ng pera at mahal ng pera ang taong marunong humawak.

Author: Francis Salvador (弗朗), Engineering Consultant, OFW, Investor