Changing Faces of Nursing

Changing Faces of Nursing

Not too long ago, the public’s perception of a nurse was someone who cared for you when you were hospitalized, offered comfort at a time when you most needed it and carried out requests that doctors had made.  Doctors were responsible for making clinical decisions, and a nurse was the one who carried out the doctors' requests. Patients were washed, dressed and beds made by a set time each day. Now things have changed! Nurse training has evolved, and nurses are taking on extended roles including further study to become Nurse Practitioners or advanced courses in particular specialties Nurses are at the frontline with patients and their families 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They are responsible for a specific group of patients and plan their care, detect changes in their conditions and then act on these changes to ensure the appropriate intervention is actioned. 

You can walk into a ward or clinic today and see many health professionals taking blood work, administering medication, carrying out physical examinations, presenting on ward rounds, breaking bad news to a patient or their family, carrying out procedures involving cannulation, central venous catheters, chest drains and administering emergency medication.  These interventions could equally be carried out by a Doctor or a Nurse.

Every year the number of Filipino nurses increase but the employment of the Filipino nurses here in the Philippines is few. Hospitals are full and nurses don’t know where to go. So nurses are force to apply as volunteers and some go abroad. Let’s admit it, finding a nursing job in the Philippines is more of a rat race now than ever before. With thousands of nurses having the same predicament, chances are, you will face one frustration after another. The government only provides opportunities to a select few, exacerbated by our culture of favoritism and “backer system”. Amidst all these, a Filipino nurse faces two options: stay waiting to work as the traditional hospital nurse or expand ones horizon and grab other nursing related opportunities. Sadly, the first option is not at all practical nowadays because not all nurses specially the neophytes, can afford to work without pay or survive having a plantilla position with measly income. Remember, we all have our own mouths and families to feed and support financially.

I’m glad that the Philippine government is implementing some ways of giving a solution on the increasing rate of unemployment in Nursing. I have heard about the NARS program to give nurses a chance to have their experiences for 6 months. The increasing emphasis on shifting care from hospital settings back into the community will require community nurses to develop new skills and knowledge to care for more acutely ill patients in the home settings and to prevent inappropriate hospital admission. Also the government project called Project Enterprenurse. The project would allow qualified nurses to practice nursing independently. Thru this, the nurses would be able to practice their nursing skills and at the same time apply their entrepreneurial capabilities. It would present livelihood opportunities to nurses other than working abroad.

15 years ago I was 20 years old and beaming from ear to ear as I made a slow walk up to the stage. When the teacher handed me my diploma in Nursing and shook my hand. I thought I have reached the top of the world. My experience as a new graduate at that time was same as those nurses today, the policy… you got to be a volunteer. But the good thing they don’t ask us to pay for them.

I started my nursing career in one private hospital in San Juan. I worked there for about a year but like any other nurses who wanted to look for greener pasture I feel I wanted something different. So I called every agency and found a recruitment agency that taken care of me. I have spent two years in Riyadh and I am not taking the job for granted, I worked hard to succeed and learn every day. I never renewed my contract there because I was planning to stay in the Philippines. At that time nursing career was booming, recruitment in US and UK are open for Filipino Nurses, some of my friends also grab the opportunity they applied even without intensive nursing experience. However, I prefer to go back again in Middle East this time it is in the country of Kuwait. My job here was not in the hospital setting but in a dental center owned by a Doctor who studied and gained experienced in the US. Here I was assigned as an assistant to him on periodontal and maxillo facial surgeries. The procedures and the type of work I have experienced in this area really amazed me. The new technologies and techniques make my old fashioned thinking of dental procedures a thing of the past. But then again my aspiration of looking for my passion in nursing asked me to quit on this job. My third job was in a government tertiary hospital in Taif KSA. I was so excited to be chosen as an NICU staff nurse I feel that my heart was set on this position. I don’t know much about the job except for the pediatric OPD cases I have previously. Anyway I started this career in a ladder, starting from mild cases of babies who started to feed and gaining weight. I tried my very best to be certified in this position, I ask my head nurse to give me babies to work with especially the preemies. With this I become comfortable in assessing the infant and interacting with parents. I attended local conferences related to neonatal nursing and OB well baby as well. I keep myself updated with basic life support and PALS. Then comes my 4rth job and my travel experiences. Equipped with the experience in the hospital and specialty in nursing I went to Dubai to be with my family (working alone in a different country makes a person really sick) I applied and accepted in a Private Hospital whose at that time was on the way for a certification of JCIA. I stayed here for six years and enjoying my job, I have handled different and complicated cases. With the experience I gained I become a leader in the unit helping other staff, communicating with doctors and parents.

Now I am back in the Philippines with a different professional passion. I wanted to make a difference out of my career in nursing to excel in my skill and knowledge. I believe that being and having a Masters Degree in Nursing makes me more marketable, more freedom and more responsibilities. Nursing is an ever changing and challenging field and I need to be prepared for anything and everything.