13 March 2018 | Valenzuela City
The AMS Auditorium of Our Lady of Fatima University (OLFU) was packed with students of the College of Nursing from the campuses of Valenzuela, Quezon City and Antipolo. They were all-ears at the conference, “Gearing Up for Going Global: Career Pathways for Nursing Graduates”. And, “go global” the College did as five guest speakers tackled the various channels available to graduates which would enable them to gain a career foothold in the international nursing industry.
U.S. Registered Nurse Melody Bautista of the National NLE and NCLEX Reviewer dissected the intricacies of preparing for certification tests, and the process flow of applying for nurses’ international exams. To any nursing graduate dreaming of that career abroad, passing the Nursing Licensure Exam and the National Council Licensure Examinations would be the initial, prerequisite gateways to fulfilling their work-abroad aspirations.
Subsequently, the next segments of the program presented the current demand for registered nurses in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. Chief Nurse Earl Dalton of Health Carousel Philippines, Inc. spoke about U.S. opportunities, while Roger D. A. Bartholomew, President of Inter Education Specialist covered the prospects for Australia and the United Kingdom.
The last two speakers were representatives of Shearwater Health Philippines. Their Director for Immigration Ehrnie Merginio presented their company’s process in deploying nurses abroad— nurses branded as Shearwater who would have the flexibility of being placed in the vast client base of the company in the United States. On the other hand, Operations Manager Ronald Salimbao discussed the business process outsourcing side of the business. He said the local employment could either bridge the 2- to 3-year processing period for overseas placements, or could be an alternative career track for nurses who want to enjoy local, above-industry compensation while remaining with their families in the Philippines.
If the flurry of questions during the Open Forum were indicative, one could say that interest in the topics was quite palpable.
