Career, Oppotunities, Challenges, Issues & Concern: The 1st WON Convention and General Assembly

1st WON CONVENTION & GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Another milestone in nursing profession is the creation of Work Opportunities for Nurses (WON) on social media, from group page in Facebook, now on its legalization as a nursing interest group.

“WON exists to create a conduit that would bridge nurses and opportunities. WON aims to alleviate nursing unemployment and underemployment in the country through the use of social media.” said by the President and CEO Mr. Chales Almin Alba.

This group is a social media group dedicated to assist nurses, especially in the Philippines to find and acquire work/job commensurate with one's credential, background, and experience.

From the recent data of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), there are 300, 000 unemployed nurses and still counting from the recent graduated nursing students and passers of the local board examination.  It is approximated that there is an increase of 25,000 to 30,000 nurses to be added in the unemployment rate of nursing.

The WON established socially on September 9, 2013. In just 8 months of its life, it now has 16,350 solid membership bases and still counting every minute, surpassing other nursing groups existing for many years. So, it come the First WON Convention and General Assembly with the Theme: Career Opportunities for Nurses: Challenges, Issues and Concerns.

Dr. Marilou Furio -Keynote Speaker
Credits: Regina Belle Castillo

Based on the presentation of Ms. Marilou Furio RN, PhD, the Keynote Speaker, she elaborated some venue of nurses to venture.

Some of these are the following:

1. Hospital Nursing services – staff nurses, managers, clinical specialist, ancillary nurses
2. Nursing Education
3. Nursing Research
4. Military Nurse
5. Occupational / Industrial Nurse
6. School Nurse
7. Community Health Nursing
8. Private practice (Private Duty Nursing)
9. Non-traditional (nurses in airlines, nurses in BPO, nurses in banks, nurse informatics, healthcare equipment /devices manufacturers)  

Here are the differences, Opportunities and Challenges for the places of employment for nurses.

Place of Work	Opportunities	Challenges
Hospital Nursing Practice	ü Can practice nursing ü Can have a career pathway in nursing ü Able to serve “humanity” ü Qualifies one for a nursing career abroad	ü Low salary ü Exposure to health hazards ü Shifting duties
Nursing Education	ü Can pursue a career pathway in nursing education ü Able to practice nursing procedures	ü May have rotational clinical duty ü Student learning’s ü Lesson plans
Nursing Research	Finding new nursing knowledge	ü Cannot use nursing skills ü Few research positions ü Including clinical nurse research assistants
Military and Police Nursing	Security of tenure and military benefits	ü Sometimes rotates to other places ü Rotating shifts ü Exposure to health and work  hazards
Industrial Nursing	ü Mostly office hours ü Less clinical hazards ü Career growth in nursing is limited	ü  Also has duty shifting rotation ü  Less nursing procedures to do limiting nursing skills
School Nursing	Office hours	ü Limited nursing practice ü No professional growth
Community Health Nursing	ü A career in nursing  practice ü Achieve patriotism – have an opportunity to serve Filipinos in countryside	Limited qualification for application abroad
Private Duty Nursing	Independent practice (Self managed vs agency managed)	ü Security of work environment ü Professional growth is self driven ü Availability of cases ü Prone to  abuse
Nurses in Airlines (Flight and Ground Attendant)	ü Can explore many places for free ü Meet different people ü With glamorous image	ü Prone to hazard (Flight risks ) ü Duty schedule is also rotational
Nurses in BPO (Front liners)	ü Increase financial funding ü Advantage for those who prefer administrative task ü Still able to work on healthcare field (analysis of charts, medical encoding ) ü Exposure to Business Field ü Able to communicate to other people residing in foreign countries	ü Schedule (Consistent night shift) ü Medical / Nursing Skills will not be utilized ex. IV insertion, NGT Insertion, Bed bath, blood transfusion Loss opportunities to work as a nurse abroad
Nurses in BPO (Managerial)	ü Increase financial funding ü Exposure to Business Leadership across different countries ü Expand leadership in global aspect ü Ex. Worked with leaders in other countries (U.S, UK, Australia, India etc)	Unable to practice nursing skills
Nurses in Banks (Employees and Managerial)	ü Glamorous image ü Can also have a banking career path	No nursing  practice
Nurse Informatics	ü Few competitors ü High job grade	üFew positions for now üVery limited  use of nursing skills

Just to add, nurses may also venture to Humanitarian and Development Sectors. Now a days, a lot of International NGOs, Local NGOs and CSOs offering positions to nurses with related works focusing on health prevention and promotion. These NGOs and CSOs will provide you additional skills and knowledge which academe and hospital can give to you.

Moreover, the success of the 1^st WON Convention and General Assembly is not possible without the help of its partners and sponsors.

 Like it? Share it!