March 9, 2009
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Alfeo Cacho and Helen Rodriguez
attend a welcome for the final group of
internationally-trained nurses from the Philippines
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Alfeo Cacho was tired and experiencing jet lag, but didn’t let that dampen his enthusiasm for the adventure he is undertaking. Cacho is among 20 nurses trained in the Philippines and recruited by the Saskatoon Health Region to arrive here on February 23. They were greeted by a late February snowstorm complete with blustery winds.
“Before we went here, I ‘googled’ the hospital I was assigned,” says 26 year-old Cacho who will be working at Saskatoon City Hospital. He knew about the weather and learned about Saskatoon online. Now he is looking forward to the opportunity to develop into a better-skilled nurse. “I’d love to stay in Philippines, but there is no opportunity to grow there.”
The Saskatoon Health Region has recruited 96 internationally-trained nurses in the past year. Rhoda Yakubowski is a recruitment consultant with People Strategies, and a member of the team helping the nurses to settle into life in Canada. She understands the desire of nurses like Cacho to strengthen skills. “They have over 80 thousand graduates from nursing schools this year in the Philippines, and a lot of very skilled nurses can’t find jobs there,” she says.
The prospect of a new job isn’t the only enticement. Nurses trained internationally may write the Canadian registered nurse exam and if they pass, can apply for residency. Already more than 60 of the nurses have written the exam and are awaiting results in March.
Twenty-seven year old Helen Rodriguez recognizes what that means not only for her career but also for her family. “I want to fulfill my dream in working in Canada. I also want to sponsor my family who also want to migrate here to Canada. We see Canada as the greatest place for us to live,” she says.
Rodriguez is the only Filipino nurse in Cudworth, where she is stationed. Coming from Manila could be seen as a culture shock, but her focus instead is on learning. “I expect the facilities here in Canada are more sophisticated than in Philippines. I think it’s quite modernized and it will be very easy to fulfill our tasks.”
Yakubowski says now that all the nurses have arrived the focus will turn to evaluating the program – to find out how the groups are doing, what works and what doesn’t work – before making any recommendations on expanding international recruitment. The Saskatoon Health Region also conducts recruitment within Saskatchewan and Canada as well as in the aboriginal community.
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