Nurse Volunteerism

Manila, August 20, 2011 – The day that July 2011 Phil. Nursing Licensure Exams results were released. Just like how I felt when I found out I, too passed, it was truly overwhelmingly a joyous moment. My sister-in-law passed and she then became the third RN among her siblings. About 37,500 made it to be an RN among 78,000 hopefuls. It was a tough battle and I salute all those who passed – welcome to the reality!(post-nursing reality).

Probably after their oath-taking only they will get the feel of what I meant to by post-nursing reality. The dilemma begins when they actually face the fact that there are just too many RNs in our country (saturated mostly in Metro Manila) and there are just so few jobs available.

Half a decade ago (December 2006 NLE passer), I too faced these challenges. I just did the “go with the flow” way during that time. I joined the bandwagon and got into the BPO industry. I worked my ass off on graveyard shifts for over a year. Sure I did learn a lot in the corporate world. But shortly after that call center stint, I decided to pursue my chosen profession – Nursing.

At my time, hospitals have started to create a practice that changed or should I say made the lives of new nures a little bit more difficult – the idea of volunteerism. I would consider myself lucky because the 6-month “OJT” program I joined was free of charge. The staff were warm and even offered free meals for almost all OJTs from all the wards. It was truly a fruitful 6 months of volunteer work. I honestly gained a lot of experience that helped me now that I am a staff nurse too.

I was never against in doing volunteer work. To be a volunteer nurse is a noble act. And just the word implies, it is voluntary. It should never be monetized or be an income generating racket by the hospitals. Volunteer nurses should be a dignified work and must be well appreciated both by the hospitals and by the patients.