Filipino Nurses
 
The first day of the rest of our lives
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–Urna Semper
Immigrant workers are an important part of the United State’s healthcare system. It is estimated that about 10% of nurses are African-American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or Filipino. A 2004 study found that 3.5 percent of American RNs, or registered nurses, were educated out of the country, and of that group, around 50% are from the Philippines. The appeal of the American nursing industry is largely the result of a serious nursing shortage. It is estimated that by the year 2020, the country will have about 800,000 fewer nurses than it needs. For this reason, employers have become more willing to hire immigrant workers. The rising demand for nurses has even resulted in an act called the Immigration Nursing Relief Act of (and provisions added to that act in 1990), created to expedite immigration by allowing nurses who were already in the country on a temporary or unauthorized basis to apply for and receive citizenship. Also, the shortage of workers has caused a dramatic rise in wages, making nursing an increasingly lucrative profession. Immigrants and potential immigrants of many foreign countries, particularly the Philippines, have come to recognize the nursing industry as a way to become part of and benefit from the United States’ economy. In the Philippines, where the per capita GDP is $5,000 (compared to 43,500 in the US), immigrating to the United States as a nurse has become one of the most successful and popular ways for citizens, especially young women, to improve their economic prospects. Most nurses who immigrate do so in order to make enough money to improve their overall quality of life and, often to help support their relatives in the Philippines. In much the same way that many American parents encourage their children to be doctors , lawyers, or business peoples, many Filipino parents encourage their children to become nurses. Nurses from the Philippines are rigorously educated and before they are allowed to work in the United States must pass an exam by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (the CGNFS), a US run organization designed to ensure the competence of immigrant nurses. Once nurses have CGNFS certification it is generally easy to get a visa and a job. Labor organization among Filipino nurses in fairly straight-forward. In general, they are met with good conditions and well-structured worker organizations. This is partly because of the level of competence ensured by the CGFNS, partly because of the cohesive nature of the nursing community, and partly because of the established nature of healthcare work in general. Labor union, which make most of their money off member fees, are especially welcoming to foreign nurses, and have even been known to offer them bargain fees in a bid to get them to join. Most New York nurses are part of unions that are affiliated with their hospitals and help them by negotiating things like pay, job security, benefits, and holidays. The Unions deal with questions of seniority and provide a procedure for the address of grievances. It is rare for nurses to face serious organization-related problems. Especially because of the growing diversity of the New York healthcare population, the hospital community tends to be welcoming of immigrant nurses, and there are few serious ethnic divides in the professional arena. The essentials of healthcare remain the same. Two important differences between nursing in the Philippines and nursing in the US are that the dynamic of the doctor-nurse relationship is much more casual in the US, and that US hospitals are much better equipped and funded than Philippine ones. Also, wages in the US are hugely higher than in the Philippiines. There are cultural differences, largely because the Philippines is a much more traditional, religious country, but the move to the states in easier for Filipinos than for many other groups because English in the main spoken language of the Philippines. Also, although many young nurses come to the United States alone, there is a strong Filipino community and many already have family or friends who have immigrated. It is common for nurses to either be joined by family or to created new families and social networks in the US. Although nurses often send home money to families in the Philippines it seems that the common plan is to settle and live long-term in the United States.