Spring is my favorite season. From the dreary, colorless environment, I found the different hues of green truly captivating. The sun which I usually took for granted while I was still living in a tropical country is now embraced with much enthusiasm. But Spring is not all blue skies and colorful flowers. The sunny weather is interspersed with rain and dark clouds. And that was how I have been the past months.
One moment I feel contented and happy, the next day, my heart is filled with dissatisfaction and angst. The negative emotion usually stems from long hours at work and the feeling of receiving unjust compensation for it. I think most new immigrant nurses feel this way. I have talked to a handful of Filipino nurses working in the hospital as ward/ICU nurses and my condition is not an isolated event. We sign a job offer in the Philippines with an hourly rate which is not reflective of the ones we receive when we start working. It is not usually divulged until when you start working already. By then, you have cut all ties from your previous "life", packed up your belongings and brought your family here. It leaves you with little choice but to endure the situation until your contract is fulfilled. The employer deducts the immigration expenses from your salary for the duration of your contract. So you will end up receiving a lower rate compared to your co-workers. Personally, I think this idea is garbage.
With the high turnover of nurses in the hospitals, having a nurse for two years should already help the hospital save in terms of training new nurses. In my company, I have seen new nurses get oriented and quit just after 3 months. Actually, in the 9 months that I have been employed, I have seen 10 nurses resign! Most of them did because of the crazy hours we work. If they could get me to stay for two years, they have already saved some money. That's why I could not get the rationale for paying an immigrant nurse lower salary compared to our counterparts. I just feel like cheap labor and I know I am doing a good job. There are some nurses under orientation who could not even get out of orientation. And that means expenditure again for the company. So whoever is sitting in the financial table is not getting his numbers right by treating immigrant nurses this way. Frankly when I came here, I had all the intentions to work as a dialysis nurse for the rest of my stay. But now, having experienced this bias, I have decided to do my time and get out of the job and find something else. And I know most immigrant nurses have been thinking along that line too. And it is such a waste because if only we were treated equally, we would have stuck with the position and done a great more good for the company.
One moment I feel contented and happy, the next day, my heart is filled with dissatisfaction and angst. The negative emotion usually stems from long hours at work and the feeling of receiving unjust compensation for it. I think most new immigrant nurses feel this way. I have talked to a handful of Filipino nurses working in the hospital as ward/ICU nurses and my condition is not an isolated event. We sign a job offer in the Philippines with an hourly rate which is not reflective of the ones we receive when we start working. It is not usually divulged until when you start working already. By then, you have cut all ties from your previous "life", packed up your belongings and brought your family here. It leaves you with little choice but to endure the situation until your contract is fulfilled. The employer deducts the immigration expenses from your salary for the duration of your contract. So you will end up receiving a lower rate compared to your co-workers. Personally, I think this idea is garbage.
With the high turnover of nurses in the hospitals, having a nurse for two years should already help the hospital save in terms of training new nurses. In my company, I have seen new nurses get oriented and quit just after 3 months. Actually, in the 9 months that I have been employed, I have seen 10 nurses resign! Most of them did because of the crazy hours we work. If they could get me to stay for two years, they have already saved some money. That's why I could not get the rationale for paying an immigrant nurse lower salary compared to our counterparts. I just feel like cheap labor and I know I am doing a good job. There are some nurses under orientation who could not even get out of orientation. And that means expenditure again for the company. So whoever is sitting in the financial table is not getting his numbers right by treating immigrant nurses this way. Frankly when I came here, I had all the intentions to work as a dialysis nurse for the rest of my stay. But now, having experienced this bias, I have decided to do my time and get out of the job and find something else. And I know most immigrant nurses have been thinking along that line too. And it is such a waste because if only we were treated equally, we would have stuck with the position and done a great more good for the company.
For now, my daily prayer has been : Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."
The Lord revealed His sentiments from Ezekiel 22:29, 31 - "The wealthy cheat and rob. They mistreat the poor and take advantage of foreigners. So I will turn my anger loose on them for what they have done." The Sovereign Lord has spoken.
No comments:
Post a Comment