Wound care and dressing
My journey as a bedside care nurse has begun. Every day wound care and dressing will be just a routine for me. And yes, believe it or not, I wear gloves and strictly follow aseptic technique.
This photo shows one of my patients with healing wound on their foot and are s/p debridement.
By today, this open wound is getting to be almost closed as more tissue formation occur (that’s of course with the help of good nursing care, ehem.)
We go through different kinds of transition in our lives. Just like everyone goes through developmental stages, it’s stepping up from one level to another.
I am now facing a transition. From the corporate world to the noble profession of health care. From the private industry to government service. This is a much awaited move for me I guess. Since the Nursing profession became such a fad for almost a decade ago, I was one of those who jumped in to the bandwagon of the nursing career. 3 years post graduation, I was able to work in a new “field” of healthcare in the Philippines – it is now called Telehealth Medicine. The company was managed as a BPO/KPO industry in short – a call center-like environment. My time in this field has finally come to its end. I am moving on.
I must say, it was well worth 2 years experience. I have learned so much. This new opportunity to be a Nurse in a government hospital is rather a challenge. We all know that finding a job as a Nurse with pay is not as easy as applying in the call center industry. Thus, I am so much grateful for this opportunity.
I have once read Maria Ressa’s speech she ga
ve for a med rep event and she said towards the end of her speech: “Once you find the courage to say no and take responsibility for your actions, you reverse the tipping point for evil and begin to tilt the balance the other way
Fight the group that will drag you down. Find the group that will raise you up.” This is a real challenge for me. Corruption is not only found in the government but also in private industries. Upholding and going back to your core and keeping it with your morals is a responsibility.
I must say that this transition is the continuity of courage to do what is right. And a realm where I will have to draw the line in the sand as Maria Ressa have said and I should never cross it.
This long over due dedicated blog for Bar has finally launched today. All updates, pictures and info for Bar’s case will be updated to
http://baraquiel.wordpress.com
Per PRC there are 187,000 unemployed nurses today and there are more numbers to add on this once the July Nursing Board Exam results will be out. The predicament of: No choice. As I posted my comment on ABS-CBN article The nursing profession under siege.
The predicament: No Choice. Most of these nurses would tend to jump over the catch of these Hospitals and private businesses that would take advantage of these nurses that would rather believe: “Kesa naman walang trabaho.”.
These are professional nurses that have studied so hard to earn this degree and it is only right and just that the new Aquino government will help uplift the nursing profession of the country.
P-Noy must also remember that most of these young nurses were born during the mid to late 80′s which means that we are the product of his parent’s fight for democracy. I myself was born 1985, and I have enjoyed the rest of the democracy and freedom that the Aquinos have started years back. And again, we are hoping that another Aquino will help us one more time.
True, it’s not only the hospitals that take advantage to Nurses like me. Also, other businesses can just easily create a trap for these professionals to work and get underpaid if not, be underemployed on the notion of being medically related. I have posted in my previous blog posts (click here) that there are still few good reasons to continue our parent’s dream in becoming a pinoy nurse in the land of milk and honey. But then again, the there is the reality of how to start achieving that american dream. We need experience to hone our nursing skills. It’s either we work without compensation volunteer or spend at least Php 3,000 up to Php 20,000 to get a certification on specialized skills training.
Moreover, I wanted to discuss the vulnerability of these nurses from exploitation. Back in 2008, I along with fellow volunteer nurse friends applied in an agency for a placement in KSA. Since at that time, we only had less than 6 months of post-grad clinical experience the manager of the agency have offered that they can fabricate documents for us to get a 2 year hospital-work certification so long we will accept the job offer which was around Php 22,000 a month in a military hospital in KSA. No one from us accepted the offer even after the final interview with an Arab national and have personally offered the jobs.
I continued getting hospital experiences and pursued becoming volunteer. I must also say that up to now, AFP Medical Center and PNP General Hospital offers 6 months nurse residency program and 3 month OJT RN program for FREE respectively for new nurses. Which I have attended both programs last 2007 and 2008. I of course have tried attending “Skills Training” in a private hospital in Quezon City where I had to pay about Php 3,000 for a month of training.
Now, I am working in a BPO/KPO company that is “somehow” medically related field. It’s teleradiology business but the job is more concentrated on customer service. And let me just simply say, a nurse like me, who after 4 years since graduating from nursing school, at the age of 25, married with one child – cannot simply make the best career move. But, I truly believe that like those 187,000 unemployed nurses, I am bigger than this. The uncanny situation of Filipino nurses now can [should] simply not stop me to be successful.
But at the age of 25, young nurses should be wiser and make the best career move. Volunteer in a hospital or BPO/Call center job? It depends on the need (on the personal level). State-wise, the profession is under attack by opportunists and money-centered institution but we should help not to let this happen. It’s high time that the media is helping us to move the issue in the center of everyone’s attention especially the new government.
OJTRN 02-07 the batch of Volunteer Nurses I attended last 2007-2008
| June-06 | 17,821 |
| Dec-06 | 19,712 |
| June-07 | 31,275 |
| Dec 07 | 28,924 |
| June-08 | 27,765 |
| Nov-08 | 39,455 |
| June-09 | 32,617 |
| Nov-09 | 37,527 |
| TOTAL | 235,096 |
Source: Philippine Board Exam Results click here
Since I graduated last April 2006, there has been almost quarter of a million Registered Nurses in the Philippines. And what happened since then? Most these RNs wanted to work abroad, major destinations US, UK and UAE. Wondering how many of these nurses have gone out and have started to repay their families for their investment? The Philippine Nursing Community have evolved too. The law of supply vs demand hit us big time. Watch this interview with the former PNA President and former Dean of Trinity University of Asia and Founder of Colleges of Nursing of Adamson University and STI Colleges – Dean Leah Paquiz
Originally posted from my Multiply account last Apr 09 2010
The growing numbers of Filipino families that has one or more of its members that are new nurses or is taking up nursing has suddenly taken aback with the reality of achieving the great American Dream. Yes, we know all the crappy things that a novice nurse must go through before taking the very first step in becoming an actual and performing USRN. The backlog or “retrogression” in the US Immigration is the one that is believed that kills these young pinoy nurses to achieve this ambition. It creates this predicament – I would rather work now (probably in a call center) than spend more money, be a US licensed and end up waiting for the next 5 years in queue.
True, only about 20% of my nursing friends have taken and passed the NCLEX-RN exam and only 2 of them has priority dates. To rekindle that desire, the one that most of our parents felt about 5 or 6 years ago when they believed that nursing will save every pinoy household from poverty, let me show how much the current US nurses are earning now.
Looking at this USRN salary table, if I will start working in the states today, I would be earning PHP 7,840.oo per day or PHP 156,816.00 per month with an average 40 hours work per week. So this amount I believe does not include the income beyond 40 hours, overtime and night differential benefits, and other income should I want to do part-time job.
After 20 years of experience, based on this table I would be earning PHP 221,616.00 per month in 40 hours work per week. I know, looking at these figures will surely makes us smile. The average salary in a private hospital here in Manila is around PHP 11,000.00 per month with more than 40 hours work per week.
So now we may know why our parents strongly imposed to us to take this career path. Not primarily because of the money alone, but of course there’s more stability of future and more chance of achieving the much coveted American Dream.
