It's Raining Nurses

8 Comments
I met the young and pretty nurse who came around the same time as me to Perth last night over dinner. It's interesting to note I knew all but one nurse in my entire Singapore life but since I left, I got to know 5 more somewhere out there. Grace . WD . CK . Ling . Jan. What do they have in common? They are Singaporeans, working overseas and doing nursing as their profession.


What profession? Our Population White Paper blatantly stated nursing as a low skilled job. After the dismay cries of our indignant angels in white, Teo "What do you think?" Chee Hean apologized and informed the public that was an error and had been since amended. 


I wonder how many Singaporean nurses actually felt better for that. They can call them Angels of Love if you want to, but that meant nothing if the general sentiments and vibes towards the profession is at a noxious state where nurses are regarded as our domestic foreign maids - but in uniform. 


I supposed enlightened nurses should know by now, the amending of a word does nothing for them. If I insist on any of the 5 nurses to get back working in Singapore as a "highly skilled" nurse, I would have two syringes shoved up my nose and its mysterious content shot up to fry my brains in seconds. I suppose you can ask Winking Doll [link] our hot Singapore nurse blogger working in Canada how she compares the working conditions in a Singapore hospital to a Canadian one. As it seemed, it was dire enough in Singapore to motivate our family friend, Grace, to leave Singapore at a young age all alone to pursue her passion in Perth. CK described leaving Singapore nursing as crawling out of a human discharge sewage.


I am not sure how many Singapore nurses have smashed their oximeters on the ground and tell Singapore to shove it. I'll not be surprised if the figures are high as compared to other professions. They will because they can and because we make them. Printing out the truth (not that they are low skilled but how lowly Singapore regards nursing) probably snapped plenty of last straws among the nurses who have been motivating themselves with delusions till then.


So Singaporeans should be contented to be nursed by Pinoys. If we are not happy about it, always remind ourselves that it's our own bloody fault that the young does not take up the profession anymore and many established left the industry or continue in another country that respect them. As far as I know, our Pinoy friends are silently plotting an escape route using nursing experience in Singapore as a platform. It is sad the situation in Singapore has reduced to such a sorry state, devoid of passion, loyalty and a sense of belonging.


Meanwhile CK has put it appropriately. Nursing is the passport to the world. That was why people such as Ling and himself initiated a mid-career change, got themselves through the baptism of fire before earning their angel wings to fly them to a place where they will be happy to serve their noble cause. Singapore's loss, really - no matter how many foreigners you can import to replace them.

8 comments:

  1. Winking Doll8 October 2013 at 17:24

    Hi ASingaporeanSon,

    Thanks for your compliments. Actually I am having a running nose today, not quite "hot" as we enter mid-autumn. Haha :-D

    > how she compares the working conditions in a Singapore hospital to a Canadian one

    For those interested, they can check out the following urls.
    http://winkingdoll.blogspot.ca/search/label/Nursing%20in%20Singapore
    http://winkingdoll.blogspot.ca/search/label/Nursing%20in%20Canada

    Too bad nursing is no longer a valid ticket to migrate to Canada since May-2013.
    http://winkingdoll.blogspot.ca/2013/05/canada-has-enough-nurses-re-fswp.html

    I would encourage our Singapore nurses to venture overseas, e.g. Australia, while they still have a valid "immigration ticket". Chances are, nursing pay and work conditions in Singapore will continue to suck given the still wide-open "foreign talent" flood gates and the passport-based discrimination.
    http://winkingdoll.blogspot.ca/2012/12/equal-pay-for-equal-work-in-singapore.html

    Cheers, WD.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I.S16 December 2013 at 17:18

    it is pretty hard to land a job as a nurse in Australia now.

    1 phase = more cuts in healthcare in the new budget

    ReplyDelete
  3. Winking Doll13 March 2014 at 06:35

    For Singapore educated and trained nurses who want to work in B.C., you'll need to first meet the licensing requirements.

    Enrolled Nurses (known as Licensed Practical Nurses in B.C.) can check out CLPNBC for details on how to get your BC license.
    https://www.clpnbc.org/NNAS

    Registered Nurses can check out CRNBC for details on the registration process.
    https://crnbc.ca/Registration/RNApplication/InternationalEN/Pages/Default.aspx

    Thereafter, you can try to getting a job via Health Match BC.
    http://www.healthmatchbc.org/About-Us.aspx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nursing Skills6 April 2014 at 13:55

    Just show the other nurses that your there for your patients, and not to make friends.
    Respect will come with that.
    Good luck.

    http://nursing-skills.blogspot.com/2012_10_01_archive.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. DEATH MATTER16 May 2014 at 18:17

    Hi, I'm studying nursing B.C soon in Australia on 2015 Feb. Are there any advices you can give? Like living and success rate in Australia

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rachel18 April 2015 at 19:02

    Hi! i'm a SG nurse, trying to apply to Aussie! Could we be in touch?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous20 April 2022 at 08:47

    >>>>> Download Now

    >>>>> Download Full

    >>>>> Download LINK

    >>>>> Download Now

    >>>>> Download Full

    >>>>> Download LINK mb

    ReplyDelete