The Women Behind The Masks

Today is International Women’s Day and as such, we cannot let the day pass without recognizing the thousands of individuals that have led the world in its fight against the dreaded COVID-19 disease: the ladies in global health and social care. According to the World Health Organization, more than 7 out of every 10 global health and health facility service workers are females. In the Philippines alone, a quick look at a typical hospital’s staff would reveal that almost all of its healthcare employees are women. So whenever we talk about that frontline health worker, its face is usually that of a woman.

This situation is largely influenced by nurses as they usually comprise majority of the population of any hospital or healthcare institution. Most nurses are women as their detail-orientedness and caring attitude have allowed them to excel in this profession, regardless of country, race, or age. In fact, certain employers in regions like the Middle East would explicitly include being female as one of its requirements for hiring nurses, though this is partly because of their culture as well.

in our over two decades of recruiting Filipino nurses and healthcare professionals, we have long understood that female nurses aren’t really after recognition or fanfare. Instead, they are asking for the basic things that many of us take for granted, such as competitive compensation and benefits; humane working conditions; and equal treatment vis-a-vis other professions, where deployment bans or caps won’t disturb their career stability every now and then.

Nurses, both male and female, have long been deprived of the basics: Even the year 2020 wasn’t exactly different for them because despite the increase in their salary grade, a deployment ban that eventually turned into a deployment cap was imposed on all Filipino healthcare workers who wish to work abroad. Though DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello has officially endorsed the exemption of the United Kingdom from the deployment cap as we speak, nurses are continuously clamoring for its total lifting once and for all.

It is important for Filipino nurses to continue fighting for these causes because even if the road seems too long and tedious, it will eventually bend towards the direction that they desire. In the meantime, Filipino nurses must be allowed to pursue the careers that they truly want, whether in the Philippines or overseas, especially if these will be able to give them the many things that they’re usually deprived of.

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Speaking of careers, we have job opportunities for nurses who wish to work in the United Kingdom! Our biggest U.K. client, the NHS Professionals, is still looking for Staff Nurses who would like to work at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has around 6,000 highly-trained doctors, nurses, midwives, health visitors, therapists, healthcare scientists and other support staff caring for more than half a million patients from Buckinghamshire and neighboring counties every year. Below are details of its job opportunities:

BENEFITS - Band 4 starting salary (21,892GBP ~ 1,429,000PHP per annum) - Band 5 salary upon receipt of NMC pin (24,907GBP ~ 1,625,800PHP per annum) - Overtime pay and priority in NHS employment bank - Airfare of up to 800GBP ( ~ 52,000PHP) - Relocation Allowance of 1,100GBP (~ 71,000PHP) - Option to cover your first month’s rent payable in 24 months - 100GBP ( ~ 6,000PHP) salary advance upon arrival in the UK to help cover your essential needs (will be deducted from your first pay slip) - Free OSCE Training - Free OSCE Test - Free Visa and associated costs - Free first NMC registration fee of 120GBP ( ~ 7,000PHP) - Extra payments for evenings, nights and weekends shifts - Access to the generous NHS Pension Scheme - Free accommodation of up to 3 months - 27 days paid annual leave - 3-year contract - 10,000PhP cash incentive for IELTS / OET passers (to be given after successfully passing the employer interview and CBT) - No placement or processing fee

QUALIFICATIONS - At least 1 year of post-license hospital experience in the desired area (volunteer work will be considered) - IELTS / OET passer IELTS: at least 6.5 in Writing and at least 7.0 in Listening, Reading and Speaking OET: at least C+ in Writing and at least B in Listening, Reading and Speaking - No more than 1 year of work gap

If you are interested to apply, simply sign-up at https://tinyurl.com/AbbaBucks2021. You may also send your CV, IELTS/OET result, valid PRC ID, passport, Microsoft Teams and Skype ID to loisa.bernardo@abba.ph. For questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact Eloisa through +63917-531 2611 / +63918-286 1925.

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