Plight of volunteerism in the country

In an intelligent and thought-provoking decision, Department of Health Secretary Enrique Ona issued a memorandum terminating all "Nurse Volunteer Programs", "Volunteer Training Program for Nurses" and all similar and related programs, in all DOH-retained hospitals.64666926 DOH Termination of Nurse Volunteer ProgramsWhile the memorandum brings appealing images to mind (the end of nurse exploitation, employment for licensed registered nurses, respect for the nursing profession etc.), the only effects of the ordinance that is evident right now is public hospitals being grotesquely understaffed, patients suffering from inadequate care from overworked and burnt out staff nurses and entry level nursing graduates experiencing What-The-Hell-Do-I-Do-Now? syndrome.Two-Way StreetIt's not all bullying, over fatigue and slavery that envelops a nurse volunteers life. Not every registered nurse gathers used bottles in a kariton to sell at junk shops just to have money for hospital training fees. These scenarios get featured in news programs and documentary reports because it is dramatic and controversial. Truth of the matter is, nurses volunteer because they choose to practice their profession rather than apply in call centers, have fake accents and answer calls from strangers. They do it to gain leverage in this highly competitive job market. Because let's face it, no hospital in their right mind will hire a newly licensed nurse with zero post graduate experience.Please do not underestimate us. We are not slaves, we know what we are doing and we are aware of the situation in these hospitals. We are not shackled to the nursing station with big metal chains, forced to administer medications under duress and monitor vital signs at gunpoint. We were not dragged into an institution to serve against our will but we do it because we want to and, so far, we see the favorable outcome of honing our crafts and sharpening our skills.Add to that the priceless feeling of having a schedule to follow, a purpose to attend to, every day. One of the hardest things in life is to wake up at numerous mornings in a row and not be able to know what to do that day or the day after that. Plus, there is the relationship and unique bond that is formed with co-trainees, staff nurses and even patients that no bum, useless, non-"slavery" day could replace.One thing I could completely agree with, though, is that we should not be paying thousands of pesos for these so-called trainings when we have already offered our brains, bodies and licenses for free. That long-standing custom, Secretary Ona, should be the one eternally abolished but NOT, yes you read it right, every training/volunteer program in the country.A Dead EndSo, with all due respect, DOH Secretary Ona, what do you propose we, unemployed registered nurses, do now? With Nurse Volunteerism / Nurse Trainings now prohibited in DOH mandated hospitals and NO ADDITIONAL BUDGET given for hiring needed nursing manpower, every one suffers. Staff nurses are reeling from the sudden influx of additional work load, patients are neglected from lack of care from the preposterous nurse-patient ratio and fresh graduates now have no opportunity to practice what they have learned in college, therefore lessening their chances of getting hired by hospitals due to inadequate experience.Forgive me for this, but I think the memorandum is a hasty band-aid approach to a long and complicated problem of nurse shortages and exploitation in the country. It was a decision without due thought of the various elements that made the despicable nursing trade of our country what it is today. The problem is a hideous many-limbed menace and cutting of one arm will only make it bleed and stagger.So, again, if I may ask, seriously, WHAT NOW?http://orchestroscopy.blogspot.com/2011/09/doh-terminates-nurse-volunteer-programs.htmlSERIOUSLY, JUST NOW?: Nurse Volunteerism-For-A-Fee Finally Hits The Local News Wednesday, January 19, 2011 File Under : health, hospital job hunt, nursing trainings and seminars, poli-ticks, R.N. For most people, the explosion of feed hospital volunteerism by registered nurses all over the country is considered as news, but for thousands of professional nurses it is a lifestyle. An absurd reality where the one serving is also the one spending money for offering one's services.It's like selling your cellphone but instead of receiving payment, you will also be the one paying the buyer in addition to giving him the gadget. Sounds absolutely insane, right?It is. But that did not stop countless of Filipino nurses from giving in to the preposterous proposition of both government and private hospitals all around the metro for the sake of gathering experience in hopes that it will help them to finally land a paying job. Including me, my classmates in college and most probably one of your friends, relatives or even your own child.Now, with the explosion of this 'shocking' news, everybody's acting all concerned and affected (politicians, the media, even our beloved PNA) when in fact, they've been turning a blind eye on the problem for YEARS now. Call me an idealist but I think that it's impossible for the media, hospital associations and even most government officials to not be aware of such injustice unless they've been living in a desolate cave without TV, radio, internet connection and cellphone signal for at least 4 years now. And seriously, does it really have to take a physically abused and raped volunteer nurse to finally drill an opening in the thick dome of secrecy that this shameless exploitation is enveloped?Just yesterday, a segment in GMA 7's Reporter's Notebook aired a heart-wrenching special segment about volunteer nurses paying fees just so they can practice in the hospital. So many colleagues can relate to the story that one of my friends even cried upon watching the episode. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g_vciv1q6uwhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zJCn-VqQeM&feature=player_embeddedAnother video, this time from ABS-CBN regarding nurse's protest against such inhumane treatment from hospitals demanding money from would-be volunteers. (Click on the link to watch.)http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/01/13/11/group-protests-volunteerism-fee-scheme-nursesSome cynics may say that none of these will happen if no one will allow such treatment. It's easy to not experience being overworked with negative salary: Just don't do it. Do not apply, do not pay, do not be fooled by these well-oiled mammoth institutions looking for licensed slaves.But then see, registered nurses took an oath. A pledge made just a few moments after passing the dreaded board exam knowing that they will be receiving their sought-after license. And for some, it is a promise they are willing to uphold no matter what. So many skilled and intelligent nurses are now in jobs not related with the path they have vowed to uphold but some are, to the point that they do it without salary or allowance, just so they can still practice the profession and help care for humanity.It is not stupidity that brought these registered professionals to where they are now, uncompensated and begging for justice and respect. It is passion, it is the love for their profession that wakes them up every morning and takes them through the night shift. It is their concern for the sick that makes them do the unspeakable things nurses do just to get through the day because without monetary reimbursement, what else is there?So Philippines, I am speaking to you. Start caring for your professionals, not only nurses but every under-appreciated, unrewarded job there is in the country, for when the day comes that there are already too few of them, gone from the exhaustion of being used and abused, you might by then realize your mistake way too late.You might also like: The Anatomy of Nurse Volunteerism A Week in the Lying In The Secret Lives of Nurses LinkWithin Posted by Clarriscent Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook22 comments: Anonymous said... I volunteered once for a government hospital in Manila. The irony is that I live in Bulacan and believe me I travel to and from the place where I live to the hospital five days a week regardless of the time. My mother was asking why I was even doing it. I don't even get a food allowance. Once, when the emergency room was in need of an extra nurse I was transferred to the ER from the medical ward. There were only three nurses and of course doctors who only wants to come out if it was really an "emergency". So it really was up to the nurses to do the job from 10 pm to 6 am. I didn't even noticed the time when I was working the whole shift, I just simply didn't care. Because there were only two reasons why I was there: 1. I am happy with my profession 2. Even though I know I wouldn't get paid, it is not excuse for me to be lax on my job, after all paid or not paid someone's life depends on my hands. I totally agree with you that nurse volunteerism is not an act out of stupidity, young nurses do not simply want experience to go abroad, we are also scared that we might lose our skills, the advancements in the field of medicine seems to travel like the speed of light. The government or even the private agencies shouldn't make this as an excuse to exploit registered nurses. The 10,000 jobs that DOLE is giving out as "jobs" is just a way to lose the focus of the case, after all what they were planning to compensate the nurses with was an 8000 peso allowance. Enough already. We are nurses and we've had several units in psychology, we're not as dumb as you think we are.January 19, 2011 11:31 PM Anonymous said... I am also experienced to volunteer in both government and private hospital.I just want to share my insights about volunteerism here in our country. A few questions came out on my mind when I was still a volunteer. One of the hospital janitor talked to me and asked how much salary I get in this hospital? suddenly I just figured out why this janitor keep on asking me like this, then he said that I shouldn't treated like this because I am a professional and yet I don't get even pay for my service. He said How thankful He was because he is just a janitor and not a nurse like me. He get paid because he holds his map to clean the hospital and me? I hold the patient's life. On that day I felt degraded , I refused to become a volunteer nurse and searched for other nursing opportunity.January 20, 2011 3:17 PM Anonymous said... i haven't experience having volunteered to hospital but I'm part of the many Registered Nurses who worked in a different field to earn money for a living.I've worked in a call center because i don't want to pay the hospital to gain experience.Suddenly as time goes by,I've realized that many of my nurse friends undergone volunteerism to become staff nurse.So sad but that's the reality happening nowadays here in the Philippines...January 20, 2011 4:29 PM Anonymous said... Why don't they just take advantage of the numerous nurses that we have. Hospitals complain that they are understaffed or their employees are not enough but there are a lot of nurses applying for volunteer duties. It is already okay for us nurses to give our free service but to have us pay to give our "free service" is enough. I also agree that the government and the other associated groups are keeping a blind eye to this issue. Where do they spend the money we pay for our volunteer? They tell us that the quality of nurses being produced are not good enough or not skilled enough. How can we practice our profession and improve our skills when we are stuck doing other jobs to make a living and waiting in line for a slot to open in the hospital?.....It is absurd.....January 20, 2011 4:57 PM Anonymous said... Good day everyone. this volunteer business has been going on for along time. i graduated mid 90's and it was the same story i had to volunteer first in a government hospital in my town to be able to get what we called local allowances which was about 4000 pesos. but it is not easy to get that said allowance, i have to go to the politicians ie..mayor, govrnor etc to get a lleter etc... it is a long process, so after ayear i finally got an allowance. it is not easy to get an experience and it is not an easy job as a volunteer. we have to work as full time paid staff nurse. a few time specially on public holidays like christmas only volunteer nurses- not paid are the ones working....irony of it...well this has been the life of a newly registered nurse in Philippines for years...January 20, 2011 5:03 PM Anonymous said... this is the reality that we nurses were facing nowadays .. this is the sad truth.. we let ourselves be exploited because we want to earn experiences to lend a good job abroad, to help our family and provide them comfort in life.. inspite the tiredsome duty, medicating our patients, doing bedside care assessing each patient, attending their needs.. helping them to recover we nurses are still motivated to practice safe and quality nursing care.. without us im pretty sure patients will not recover because behind a good doctor is a best nurse ryt? so, it is just fair that our rights be respected and our voices be heared..stop EXPLOITATION..stop volunteerism!!! let us work with a certificate as a staff nurse and not as a volunteer ... we know we cant use that abroad so its just a waste of PAPER! to my colleagues.. go Fight win.. continue to practice safe and quality nursing care.. we filipino nurses our known all over the world for our compassion.. for providing tlc to our patients KUDOS TO ALL OF US!!!!January 20, 2011 5:26 PM Anonymous said... The first thing I heard about volunteerism-for-a-fee is that when I was still in 2nd year college on 2006. It was the time when a relative of mine have his trainee at a respected hospital institution in Davao City. I also knew that almost all of the hospitals have the same training for nurses with a training fee of P1,500-P3,000 from 1 1/2 months to 6 months. After finishing the program, the nurse trainees are given a certificate of training, which would not guarantee a nursing job. I, myself was shocked at first because I tended to deny the reality (volunteer-for-a-fee), when in fact this is an ironic one. When I graduated as a nurse, I planned to have my 6-month training (P3,000) with the same hospital, the one where my relative had his training, because it is the "trend" or somewhat a "stepping stone" among all nurses before getting the nursing job. I was kind of more disappointed when the training supervisor told me that we should also pay for our physical examination. And I was like: "Hello? We don't have a salary, not even a job, and yet you still want us to pay for that? That's pathetic!" But still, in order to get an experience, I still had my training. It was a fine experience. But now, I still don't have a permanent nursing job. If I continue to practice my profession by training in the hospital institutions without landing a job every after trainings, I really don't know what will going to happen to me.January 20, 2011 5:35 PM Anonymous said... Very well said for this article! clap clap! I was amazed. Whoever wrote this, kudos for you mr!I would like to comment to the first person who commented on this page., The RN Heals was created not because of the rising issue of NURSES BEING EXPLOIT, but it was created to help "US" nurses to have the so called job for the meantime, to help us earn for a living. If I'm not mistaken it should be launched early weeks of November 2010, with the plan of 3000 RN's to be hired,. however it was postponed for several factors. The following month was great, policy was created and (RN Heals) was born. Timely the senate called a meeting to discuss things regarding "nurse volunteer" but way back to make the meeting successful we have had wait for a quarter. We know what is happening around our corner, mind you, I am also a victim of this case. I am submitting myself at night to have my skills developed and enhanced it further, at 6:00am the following day, I had to rushed home and had my morning bathed as a start of my day before heading to my work throughout the day. Same routine right after in the afternoon. The funny side of this story was, I am working on an agency, wherein this agency is THE GOD of HEALTH, and to make it more funnier, I am working on a division wherein the function is but not limited to: to discuss with different agencies, government or private sector about the status of health professionals (NURSES,DOCTORS and DENTIST) specially on HEALTH HUMAN RESOURCE. The irony was, I am advocating for the welfare of my fellow nurses, to find solution for their problem (our problem as an agency for our nation) and to make policies to stop this insanity and yet, I AM BLIND ABOUT MY OUTPUT.. :'(I am very happy that the issue was addressed by a woman senator, and because of her she paid attention to the said problem, and brought the issue to national level.As an added info to everyone, we have a policy that states: hospitals will contribute a monetary benefits to volunteer nurses rather than the volunteer nurses pays for the services they rendered to the hospital. Sadly, an agency that caters the EDUCATION "doesn't want" or "BUSY" to sit and discuss this matter on our table since 2009/2010... and I think this agency should be knock by the head of state to move their asses.To finalize my words, I am asking my fellow nurses to SPEAK for our RIGHT, to ASK for what is RIGHT and to ACT on what is RIGHT! moving on, an ORG named AYNLA is looking for evidences such as receipt and certificate of volunteer. Please find AYNLA at facebook and let us help one another for good of all RN's. (I am not promoting the org, I am just disseminating the info to you fellows)Lastly, The agency where I am right now, is indeed doing it's job to address the unemployed nurses way way back before the issue arise. To look after to all RN's to ease their burdens. And as long as I am here I would staunchly stand on my ground, share my personal experience and DEFEND my colleagues- my fellow nurses!note: as I want to divulge my identity, I would love to however I need not to, due to work ethics and policy of my department. If any words that was written wrong in any way either or in any form doesn't constitute the stand of my agency. All words that was fire in this box was my personal views, and I will be accountable for it.Manny Thanks and God bless to all!http://orchestroscopy.blogspot.com/2011/01/seriously-just-now-nurse-volunteerism.html