GROW exec bares new trends in hiring of Pinoy nurses in the US

Global Resource for Outsourced Workers (GROW) in cooperation with STI, the largest network of nursing colleges in the country, recently invited Dr. Gina S. Brown, Ph.D., RN and Chief Operating Officer of GROW Healthcare LLC in the U.S., to meet with top executives of GROW in the Philippines, as well as nursing educators to share with them the latest trends affecting the hiring of Filipino nurses abroad. GROW Healthcare LLC is a United States (Maryland-based) company that provides direct placement and staffing services of nurses to healthcare clients located across the US.

 

Cognizant of the need for a rich source of healthcare practitioners who may immediately be tapped to address the chronic need for more quality nurses abroad, GROW has also asked Ms. Brown to facilitate a dialogue with some of the country's nursing educators on how best to continue providing " quality education for the global Pinoy" — one of the major push programs of STI and its affiliate recruitment agency in the Philippines, GROW. The discussion also provided a preview of what it's like to be working as a nurse in the U.S. , with Ms. Brown delivering a short presentation on the topic, " Nursing in the U.S.: How Nursing Schools can Help with the Process ".

 

In her opening spiel, Ms. Brown noted the availability of excellent nursing facilities and instructional materials in the Philippines , which she described as being 'second to none' . "The (nursing) curriculum and hospitals are all outstanding," she stressed, "but the skills just aren't there yet." She adds that in her more than 10 years experience working as a nurse in various states in the US , she has never met any other culture who has exhibited such fine display of excellence in terms of work ethic and a uniquely innate caring attitude commonly seen only among Filipino healthcare professionals.

 

" I've worked with a number of Filipino nurses in the U.S. and they're all excellent. They've got no issue with attendance or scheduling and most of all, they're very respectful. Such qualities make them very much appreciated in the U.S. ," explained Ms. Brown. Although these traits are useful in helping secure nursing jobs abroad, she noted that there's still a need for many Filipino healthcare professionals to improve on their proficiency in English as well as on their IT and clinical skills.

 

In terms of skills base, she advises beginning nurses and students who plan to work in the U.S. to keep abreast of the latest available technological tools being used today. She says that it's equally important for US-RNs to understand the importance of "priority", i.e., on who delegates responsibilities, which patients require more attention than others, and what to do first. Knowledge of computers is also a must, she adds, pointing out that one of the requisite exams is a computerized test called NCLEX where questions are answered directly from the PC.

 

To ensure that the next batch of nurses from the country stay as competitive, skills-wise, as their foreign counterparts, she adds that it is important for them to be able to master a number of primary care functions. "Before leaving for the U.S. , make sure you brush up on primary health care functions like IV therapy, respiratory therapy and ICU monitoring," she advises. "There is also no truth to the notion that once hired, nurses will no longer be required to do bed baths, empty urinals and do other so-called dirty work . The truth is, all nurses in the U.S. are required to do head-to-toe assessments," she clarifies.

 

In line with this, she is calling on all nursing educators in the Philippines to join hands by forming liaisons with each other so as to ensure that the required skills are transferred to every aspiring nursing graduates, the future Florence Nightingales of the profession. She is quick to point out that school educators should also be able to impart to their students the real meaning of the profession which is " service ", and that " pay " is just one of those other perks that may be derived from said vocation. She reasoned, "If nursing educators didn't exist then nurses would not have existed either."

 

For their part at GROW Healthcare LLC, Ms. Brown has communicated a willingness to help in the transfer of technology. "We're looking at putting up the GROW Skills Lab , a specialty skills lab that would help keep educators abreast of what's going on in the U.S. nursing industry," she offered. "We're also working out the possibility of providing FREE training for affiliate schools and hospitals of GROW. You see at GROW, we see nurses not as a quota but as a person," she pointed out.

 

In fact, GROW Healthcare LLC's ability to mobilize, energize and teach a nurse to be a "nurse" makes it a leader in what it does. Asked about the company's regular procedures on the recruitment of nurses in the U.S. , Ms. Brown smiled, saying that the requirements were all very basic. "One only has to be a practicing nurse, is a CGFNS and local board- passer with at least a year's experience." GROW, its local affiliate office in the country, is actually offering FREE training for applicants who meet the above requirements courtesy of its partner agency, STI Universal Workers Inc, , an international consulting firm that specializes in training, e ducating and preparing qualified professionals for a successful life and career abroad.

 

GROW is also expected to draw from STI, its other partner agency, a steady supply in the future of the brightest, most technologically-empowered nursing practitioners in the field. Aside from staff recruitment and processing, GROW also provides immigration processing assistance, nursing registry and training programs. Its expertise in securing only the best job prospects for qualified workers in the field of nursing and other allied health professions notwithstanding , GROW has already borne close to a hundred registered Filipino nurses abroad, 95% of whom are expected to renew their working contracts with the facilities.

 

"As the need for registered Filipino nurses continue, GROW shall continue to leverage on the company's strategic partnerships in and out of the Philippines to ensure a consistent supply of qualified healthcare practitioners," beams Raymond Catane, general manager of GROW." And after having successfully brought in a nursing expert in the caliber of Dr. Brown, I am confident that GROW will soon be able to hurdle a much bigger objective — that is, to help augment the level of nursing education between RP and the U.S. so as to make Filipino nurses more competitive and better prepared," he adds.