Well now for the milestone, our youngest, Rizalina, is in her third year of nursing school at UM, University of Mindanao .  In their third year the nursing students start performing “duty” at local hospitals and clinics. This is when they finally gain their experience life as a nurse. Each week they work in the different de nursing.Friday we attended her “Capping” ceremony. Except for the heat at the UM auditorium, which is an open air building, we saw our little Riza, in her nurses uniform walk up on stage and receive her Nurses Cap.

The hardest part was spotting her. We arrived late and all the nursing students were already seated. Because of the crowd, only one member of the family was allowed to sit on the main floor, so I had to sit up on one of the side balconies. As I got up there, looking at all the students sitting in rows waiting for the ceremony to begin all you could see was all the young ladies and young men in their white nurse’s uniforms. All the females in white, dark hair tied back in buns, and the distance made it difficult to find the one yo

u were there to see. My only savings was in the beginning of the ceremony, the students were requested to go to their parent or sponsor to thank them for allowing them to attend school. I watched and finally saw Riza go to her Elena. I then stood there at the rail and watched as Riza returned to her seat. I memorized which row and seat she was sitting so I could take photos and watch for her to go up on stage to get her candle and then her cap. 

Well, the ceremony was beautiful, especially when all the students stood in formation and then marched around the visitors with their caps on and lighted candles in their hands. Plus were the inspirational speeches to drive them on towards their chosen careers.

After the ceremony we met up with the rest of the family and some friends and had a nice dinner at the Grand Mensing Hotel.

Next I look forward for the eldest girls to pass their boards and then start their careers as nurses. Then our little Riza will continue to follow her older sisters in the health field. There will be more milestones to pass as we all have over our lives. I know Riza continue to make us proud, just as her sisters and older brothers continue to do for us.

I do not know if there are so many people that go to college here to be nurses because of the inherent kindness of Filipinos or because there are many opportunities to work abroad.

The other day I heard on CNN news that the demand for nurses is increasing because of the increasing “Baby Boomers” getting old and the need for nursing care. U.S. President Obama mentioned in a speech about all the nurses being hired from Asia, but also mentioned that without the increase of American nurses, there will be a need to hire abroad.

There are hundreds of thousands of Nursing Graduates every year in the Philippines. After graduation, most go to a review school to study for their licensing Boards. Of course there is a fee for this school. After they pass their boards then need to locate employment. Most if not all the hospitals then charge the applicants for training at their facility.

The next step, if they want to work abroad they need to take an international licensing test “NCLEX.”

In the past a nurse had to get 2 years experience here before they can look for work abroad. My niece told me that have been reduced to 6 months.

Most families live cautiously so they can put their children through college. While in college here there are many expenses too. Most are normal costs such as transportation, housing if the family lives too far from the school, books, food, uniforms. Then they charge the students for supplies, gifts and meals for instructors and other hidden costs. This can put the families in a difficult position.  Many families have many children. They put the first through schooling and once they graduate and start working, this extra income is expected to be used to put the next child through school. I hear many times from young people that they stopped schooling because the family could not afford for them to continue.

Also in the Philippines, with so many in college graduates, even basic jobs will only be giving to graduates. Waitresses in hotels are filled by HRM graduates (Hotel and Restaurant  Management).  Draftsmen in Architectural and Engineering firms are mostly all Architect and Engineering graduates and some all ready licensed, and working for minimum wages.

A big problem here in the Philippines is the exploitation of Nurses and others seeking employment and that is “Pay for Training”. Applicants go to a hospital to get a job as a nurse and if accepted, they must pay the hospital for 3 to 6 months for their training. After that time they are not even guaranteed a permanent job.

There is a bill in Congress to make it illegal for hospitals to charge this training fee. I was told from a friend, Speaker Nograles is working hard to have this law passed. It is nice to hear about the government working hard to improve the life of its citizens. They deserve it.