Tragedies of a Pinoy Nurse

I'm still ambivalent on the thought of going back to nursing school to finish my degree. I can't help but feel disappointed to the fate that most of Filipino nursing graduates have to suffer. Last November, another batch of nursing graduates took the NLE and according to Lito Soriano, executive director of the Federated Association of Manpower Exporters and former president of the Philippine Association of Service Exporters Inc. (PASEI), those who pass will most likely join the 200,000 nursing graduates who are either unemployed, working as volunteer nurses, or call center agents. I got this information from NurseLab, which is a nursing-friendly website by the way. I have been acquainted to certain factors that have been contributing to this nursing phenomenon. It includes policy changes in countries hiring Filipino nurses, oversupply of nurses and the deteriorating quality of nursing graduates. I'm quite certain that I'm not included to those who are affected by the last one because I'm confident that my school is consistently providing quality nursing education. However, the first two factors are things out of our control. As starting nurses, we all aim for greener pasture not only for ourselves but for our families as well. But during these trying times where opportunities are becoming limited as time goes by, we have no choice but to search for alternatives to survive. At this point in time, I'm afraid to admit that if I will go back to school and still pursue Nursing, I will be like a vagabond wandering in the middle of nowhere. Before, my only dream was to finish this course and top the board exam. But accomplishing that kind of feat now will not guarantee anyone of a decent job in the hospital. I know a lot of topnochers who are still jobless like everyone else. I remember one of my co-workers in the call center who asked what course I am taking in college and then suddenly made a wild but accurate guess: Nursing. It was embarrassing for someone like me who took the course mainly because of my passion and not for the "dollars" principle that the rest is aiming for. Nurses are being typecasted as 'unemployed individuals who have ravenous appetite for dollars' That's the sad part of becoming a Pinoy nurse. Even though the government is continuously strengthening local programs, including the NARS (Nurses Assigned in Rural Service) program that allow new nurses to be trained in rural centers and hospitals for six months and serve the poorest municipalities, they are still futile in providing regular jobs for thousands of unemployed nurses. I reall feel sorry especially for all the parents who have spent thousands of pesos just to provide quality nursing education for their sons and daughters. Nonetheless, I'm still hoping that the government will find other ways to alleviate the drastic effects of this issue to the economy and to the self-esteem of Filipino nursing graduates. For now, I will weigh the pros and cons of all the options and praying to God that I will take the reasonable one eventually.

Drugs me to Hell!

Its not just a simple frustration. Its a series of frustrations that reached its crescendo just recently. I was terminated from my call center job in Makati last month, the reason why I immediately turned to the jobseekers' safe haven (jobstreet) to look for a job. I submitted my modified resume to every call center company(medical transcription company included) available in the web, desperate to have a replacement job because I couldn't imagine myself jobless on the holiday season. After a couple of days, I received a call from Convergys and then I undergone the normal screening procedures soon afterwards. I passed all the company's standards for communication (which I already expected given the fact that I already had the experience) but when the nurse handed me the medical exam results, I staggered to what I just saw in my x-ray findings. The information printed is very clear: PTB in upper right lung field. Of course I'm not dumb to consider this as not threatening because even an average person without as much medical knowledge as I have knows what that means: Pulmonary Tuberculosis or TB as we all know. I composed myself for a moment. Frustrated as I was, I make-believed that I still had the power to bribe a doctor somewhere to give me a fit-to-work clearance although I had a strong gut-feeling that this was not going to be a walk in the park for me. True enough, I didn't find any doctor that was gullible enough to believe my frail theory that this finding was a big mistake. All of them attributed the diagnosis from the pollution , environment, and stress that I had acquired during my first call center exposure aggravated by the fact that I had to travel from bocaue all the way to Makati and vice versa to report in my job.For this reason, I have to suffer 6 months of medication therapy that will start this month and will end by May next year. And the best news of all is I won't have have a job. Even though I was accepted as an online writer (I'm still waiting for the company's confirmation), I would admit that this is not a well-paying job. Luckily, I received free medications from a health center so my family will not be burdened by this but I still don't have enough reasons to feel lucky in my situation. Perhaps God wants me to have a rest and realize that life is not all about money-making. Perhaps He just wants me to have an opportunity to do soul-searching. Perhaps, yes. Perhaps, no. I really don't know. But the medication regimen that consists of (1)Rifampicin, (1)Isoniazid, (3) Pyrazinamide, (2) Ethambutol, and (1) Ascorbic Acid daily is taking its toll on me. Now I know why DOH requires directly observed treatment for TB patients. Its really difficult to stick to the regimen and take the specific quantity on a daily basis. Its ironic that I have a nursing background but I'm applying it not on caring other people but on treating this stupid disease that I consider like a bane gradually destroying my own existence. On a positive note, the disease is letting me contemplate on my real priorities in life. Right now, I'm considering my plan of taking up Medicine one year after finishing my nursing course. Maybe this is another stupid decision but this is my dream and I will not let this lifetime pass without it turning into reality. I will start to review for NMAT maybe next week once I receive my money. I'm pretty positive about my decision of taking the NMAT this coming April before the start of next school year. Maybe there is still something great waiting for me. I'm quite optimistic about that.I'll wait and see. 'Til next time......