The compassionate Filipino nurses in our midst



While we are enjoying our breakfast one morning, my wife, Lilia who’s a nurse sighs and after stretching her back, tells me “ You know, Dad, it’s getting tougher, and tougher and very stressful to work in hospitals these days”

As I enjoy sipping my coffee, I keep listening to her saying “Look, most of us are always looking forward to our days off or the filing of our much-needed vacation. Being in the frontlines of the medical care, we have to face a number of difficulties --dealing with some demanding patients’ visitors, responding to patients’ and their relatives questions, especially when their doctors are not around to answer some of their concerns. It’s very emotionally draining seeing patients slowly deteriorating despite all things we have done caring for them. .”

Although, working at a hospital is very stressful environment, but look, I’m still working there doing my job because I love this work, Lilia says ‘

She adds, “ Aside from the heavy load on the floor, patients are getting heavier and more and more patients are being admitted—in short, more people are getting sick these days. The condition of the workplace is not good for doing one’s job well because of the understaffing which makes it doubly hard for us nurses to take care of these patients.

We are just human beings, we can’t detach ourselves and not be affected by this kind of work-- and most of us are burned out. We need to have a superhuman strength in order to give our 100 percent attention to our patients, And we also have to take into account the aging ranks of our nurses now whose ages range from 45-60 years old,” Lilia says.

For her part, my daughter Mao says that our Filipino culture on giving respect to the elderly is very effective way to ease patients’ anxiety—and by addressing Filipino patients as Nanay, Tatay, Ate and Kuya is a good way to calm them down, knowing that there is always a caring nurse ready to help them.

“ It’s good that I’ve taken up nursing instead of journalism because in nursing, I know how it feels to be human, as a nurse I’ve realized life is really that precious—and we have to give everything we can to save lives. A number of times, I have to skip my snack breaks just to do some social calls—meaning paying visit, saying simple hello to my former patients who have been transferred to palliative unit. It breaks my heart to see these patients and their relatives there. “Mao says.

There was this Japanese cancer patient whom I had the chance to talk about things we both love: books and filmmaking. While a Hungarian patient was undergoing chemotherapy, we chatted about our love for cooking—and because of that short talk, she not only didn’t notice the passing of time but also the anxiety of getting the chemo.

One time I have a chance to talk to some Filipino nurses, venting to me their frustrations that despite their compassion and loving concern in taking care of their patients, still working in hospital is both physically and emotionally tiring.

Well. I’m giving them a space in my column lest they might suffer from burnout and eventually—depression. Not only that, I have a soft spot in my heart when it comes to discussing nurses’ concerns and other issues simply because I have two nurse daughters working in Toronto, two sisters and sister-in-law who are practising nurses in New York. And so anything about nursing is a good topic in the family conversations and it’s always a part of our dining-table discussion.

Another nurse named Delia  Gonzales says “Although, the new technology is supposed to make work easier to do but these computers have even slowed down the flow of work in the floor because by just checking the patients, assessing them and going back to computer to enter the password and input the data, then getting the doctors’ orders, going back to the patients to administer these drugs, rushing back to the computer to document things done to the patients— no wonder why these nurses spend most of their time in front of these computers instead of doing the bedside nursing work.”.

“We Filipino nurses are outstanding when it comes to our interpersonal relationship with our colleagues in the workplace because our inherent nature of “ madaling tayong makibagay”, in short we can easily adapt or go with the flow in our workplace.” Delia adds.

I’ve also learned that these nurses are prone to physical attacks on their job from patients who are confused or when they are dealing with psyche patients— and they could not even restrain them unless they really become violent.

Adding pressures to these nurses is the fact that some of their colleagues moonlight in order to augment their incomes. This is understandable, considering the instability of the country’s economy. So, what normally happens, by the time they report for work at their regular jobs as RNs in one hospital, they are already tired because of working earlier in another medical facility.

My  wife, Lilia and Delia are alumni of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila College of Nursing Batch '72.

Well, what more can I say, except to say “ we all thank you—Filipino nurses around the world—for your dedication in giving your tender loving care to the needy patients.”

Despite life’s deteriorating condition, we can all look forward to the day, as the Bible says “no one …will ever again complain of being sick” (Isa. 33:24) and God “will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain. The old things have disappeared.”(Rev. 21:4)--Bible in Today’s English Version