nurse volunteer from CAR

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Good day. I am a nurse volunteer in one of the hospitals in the Cordillera Administrative Region, and have been one for almost a year now. Although I have tried applying for a staff position in certain hospitals both here and abroad, I was rejected for not having enough or any actual hospital training back then; the primary reason i resorted to volunteering.

After almost a year of being a nurse volunteer, i have made different observations regarding the said training. Although we are indeed entitled to many actual learning experiences that increases our skill in the nursing profession, that I believe, is the only upside.

First of all, a nurse volunteer is required to pay about 1k/month for hospital training. This training lasts 3-4 months per module, or area of specialization.

This issue of payment has long been existing, and there has already been complaints mostly from the parents of the trainees who wok in the hospital. No numerical compensation is allowed to a volunteer even though the work load is that of a regular staff nurse.

I think i speak for the general population of nurse volunteers when i say that we don't really mind the work. All we ask for is a little justice with regard to our services rendered. We are after all licensed, and able to perform our work with competence. Considering that we ARE after all the majority of a hospital's work force, why aren't we given proper and due compensation? Minor changes like transportation allowances or food allowances will be a great help to us. 

Another is the issue of absorption, or employment. Most hospitals have an absorption policy, in which nurse volunteers are qualified to take the test and evaluation. However, as some feedbacks have been gathered, there appears to be a "Palakasan system" going on in every hospital. Whether you know the owner of a hospital, a doctor, or you're the son of a big-shot, these factors increase your chances of getting in. I can only say congratulations to the nurses who actually made it on their own with will-power and determination, not resorting to "BACKERS" in the system. Poor is the nurse who doesn't have any connections at all.

As for the certificate, it indicates that a nurse, after 3-4 months of working in a hospital is STILL a "NURSE TRAINEE/ VOLUNTEER" with actual hospital work exposure. As if they do not know anything at all, as if they did not perform the work of a staff, addressed at a level that to my belief, puts us just a little ahead of students. If I were a prospective employer, would i be interested in hiring this nurse, this TRAINEE?

I believe that we nurses deserve better from the Philippine Government, and i hope that this email reaches those in authority so that we nurse volunteers would still not be without a face or voice in the future.

~ KC