A call for Filipino nurses to upgrade their skills, perform well their work obligations, and adhere to the social conduct and practices of the Kingdom was echoed last weekend by an official of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), Philippine Embassy. Philippine labor attaché Adam A. Musa made the appeal during the assembly of nurses representing various public and private hospitals in the Eastern Province who gathered here to mark the formal establishment of the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) in the region. Musa was the guest speaker during the presentation of the elected officials of PNA, a chartered organization of members of the nursing profession in the Philippines. Mary Jane P. Tupas, Director of nursing of the Mohammed Dossary Hospital in Al-Khobar, was elected president of the PNA in the Eastern Province. “Saudi Arabia is the biggest employer of our nurses. It is just fitting to reciprocate the Kingdom by upgrading your skills, performing your job to the highest level, and strictly observing social norms and practices of the host country,” Musa said. There are approximately 133,000 Filipino nurses, about 90 percent of them female, who are currently working in government and private hospitals across the country. Musa highlighted the fact that although Filipino nurses are already trained and required to have at least two years experience before working in Saudi Arabia, they should continuously improve and sharpen their skills as required by the Saudi Ministry of Health and the international standards. “The health sector in Saudi Arabia is equipped with latest and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. Our nurses have the opportunity to learn and improve their expertise in their respective line of specialization through the availability of these modern health amenities,” Musa said. Musa said that only by performing their best can Filipino nurses be competitive in the job market. He said the profile of foreign nurses working in Saudi Arabia is now widening. “The Kingdom is now hiring other nationalities from Asian countries; it is therefore essential to show that Filipino nurses are still very much capable in doing their job in the Saudi health sector,” he said. The Kingdom is now employing nurses from Indonesia, China, and even Ethiopia. India and Filipino nurses represent the biggest working nurses in the Kingdom. To further galvanize and strengthen the role of Filipino nurses working in Saudi Arabia, Musa suggested holding of a national convention of Filipino nurses working in Jeddah, Riyadh, and the Eastern Province to be convened by the first quarter of 2012. __
