"I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully".. This is the starting lines from the Florence Nightingale's Pledge recited during our oath taking ceremony years back. When I was still struggling during my college years to earn my degree, this Pledge never sink in as much as it did today when I am already practicing my profession. Much more that I am serving not in my own country but in a foreign land.
I was amazed how people from different nationalities appreciate that Filipino Nurses are the best in the world when it comes to rendering utmost care. I have a good encounter of one patient going to our hospital for treatment, not because we have high end facilities but because "there are lots of Filipino nurses" in our hospital.
Why Filipino nurses are the best in the world?
We give our time.
Noticed that knowledge is not on my top list. I believe that knowledge and skills are already inherent to Filipino nurses. Time is relevant in sick patients, whether it's a matter of an hour or minutes. And so in a 12-hour shift, if the average urination according to the survey is 13 times in a day, 3-4 times is lucky enough for nurses. When you sit and open your meal box and about to bite that chicken drum stick that is not already crispy because it was prepared 6 in the morning and you're about to eat it at 2pm, then the patient called and ask for tissue box, the nurse laid down that chicken drum stick and went to answer the patient need. Yes, even if he is only asking for a tissue box. I would want to convey that being a nurse, the best to express your love is giving your time. And Filipino Nurses have so much to give. I don't know for some rich people out there who is saying that we are just "Taga pag-alaga". I beg to disagree but we are more than just that. Maybe old age and death bed can explain better why you should hire a Filipino nurse when your own health fails.
We listen.
When I came here in the East, language barrier is one of the problems I encountered especially that communication is a basic ingredient in establishing rapport with your patients and their family. As I mentioned above, due to our inherent flexibility in adapting to any circumstances, acquiring new language is an added skill. And to listen, it's not only involving your ears. We involve our heart. That spells out why we are distinct in the delivery of health care services. Sometimes, patients are not only sick physically. They are sick emotionally. More often, they don't need much talking. They need much listening. We became their absorbent sponge. And Filipino nurses don't have two ears. We have extended ears for that matter. I don't know for some rich people out there who is saying that nurses don't have to be good. I beg to disagree but we need to be one, because holistic approach is our goal. Maybe when your money cannot buy someone to listen to you in your senile years, you might appreciate what a Filipino nurse can do.
We don't count the cost.
I was arranging the Crash Cart (literally a cart containing what you need when a patient go on flatline or respiratory arrest) around 9 in the evening, and I am not halfway refilling what's missing when another code was announced. Everything else becomes irrelevant when someone is in need to be revived. The clock is waving it's time for a good ride back home but the messy Crash Cart seemed to be pulling my vision saying "I need some fixing, STAT!"
Filipino nurses are like that. We left our families back home, enduring the long hours of work just to send the children to good school (and the kids are taking up Nursing just like mom), meet the basics of the family, savings for rainy days and the list goes on. We are like Crash Cart, armed with what you need the moment you go flat. Though behind the cap and white uniform, we too bear our own individual burdens. But we do not count the cost, we count the moments to save life. I don't know about rich people out there saying we are just Room Nurse. I beg to disagree. Maybe when your tracing becomes unsteady and the bus is waiting for a good ride back home, I will not count going home late just to revive you. Because a Filipino nurse is like that.
I could count more adjectives and verbs to elaborate why my profession is a noble one. Though I am grateful that it is acknowledged and honored and profoundly appreciated by others, it's sad to think that your own people is the one who would demerit what should be uplifted. You are entitled of your own opinion. I am entitled, too, not to listen. Because one opinion will not change how I look at my profession, how I carry out my Pledge, and how Filipino nurses renders care.
I'm a nurse, a Filipino Nurse. And I'm proud of it!
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