Why Filipino Nurses are In Demand Globally
The medical industry is doing a fantastic job all over the world, but there is something so unique about the Filipino nurses that they are being demanded globally. The country produces more nurses every year than it has jobs to place them. The high supply and low demand of nurses in the Philippines make thousands of nurses migrate to the USA, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and other countries in the Middle East every year. Philippines export about 25% of all overseas nurses to the world. Apparently, an estimated 1.6 million jobs will be created for nurses by 2020 in the USA, and since Filipino nurses are known to be hard-working and caring, they will be the first to get picked by reputed healthcare institutions.
How it all started?
The high demand for Filipino nurses globally can be traced back to colonial times. Back in the day, the Philippines was an American territory and Filipinos were taught English in order to blend them in the American culture. Later, due to the chronic shortage of nurses in the USA, many Filipinos were sent to the States to study nursing and cared for sick people. This was the beginning of the American dream of the Filipinos. Many nurses stayed back in the USA to help their families back home live a better life. These nurses helped American soldiers during the Second World War with a lot of compassion. And since they were already fluent in English, it was quite easy for them to adjust in the American lifestyle.
As the shortage of nurses increased globally, even Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries started hiring Filipino nurses over their local nurses because Filipino nurses have developed a reputation of being hard-working, and compassionate.
The current scenario
The USA and UK have among the largest aging population in the world. The senior citizens who are suffering from chronic ailments are the ones who need the most care, and hence, the demand for nursing professionals continues to rise. Plus, over 30% of the American nurses are themselves old and are retiring. While the nursing demand increased, the gap between demand and supply of nurses has also widen even more, thereby raising a need to hire nurses from the Philippines (the best option there is).
The high-class training given to Filipinos, their fluency in English and their inherent nature to look after the elderlies and ailing members of the family are the reasons that make Filipinos the best fit for nursing jobs in the USA, UK, and other developed nations. The Philippines is a nation of different languages, so it’s quite easy for Filipinos to adjust to the Western culture as well as learn new dialects. Besides, Filipinos are inborn hard-workers and do not mind working for long hours in order to make some more money and help their families back home.
Filipino nurses in the USA and UK make fifteen times more the amount what the average nurse makes back home. No wonder most of the Filipino population see the nursing profession as an opportunity to improve their living standards. As per a survey, Filipinos working abroad in the nursing industry have better prospects as compared to the lawyers and CEOs working in the Philippines.
Today, Filipino nurses working abroad remit roughly around $28bn into the Philippines’ economy every year. Many Filipino Filipinos use money transfer operators (online or brick and mortar) like Ria Money Transfer to send money to the Philippines. With Ria Money Transfer, Filipino nurses working abroad help their families back home, enjoy great exchange rates and low transaction fees, and contribute significantly to the Philippine economy.
With government forming policies to safeguard overseas Filipino workers, schools offering more support to nursing students, and a boom in the nursing industry, the American dreams of Filipino nurses are sure to come true.
About the Author
Joyce Shang is a contributing writer at Sparkwebs LLC, a Digital and Content Marketing Agency. When she’s not writing, she loves to travel, dance and read books.
