Prospects and opportunities in nursing
Dr. Nihal DE SILVA
The field of professional nursing is underappreciated in Sri Lanka
but is much sought after in first world countries.
More and more, their supply is from countries that produce nurses of
quality, and The Phillipines and India are the leading suppliers.
There are ample opportunities for other countries to enter into this
field, as at present the job opportunities are limitless. In the USA
alone, the projected number of vacancies is about 180,000 at the moment
and 600,000 by the year 2016. The situation in the UK, Canada,
Australia, Japan and Europe is not very different.
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In the field of nursing there are many different levels |
These huge requirements are generated by an aging population, changes
in law pertaining to the operation of healthcare facilities, better
enforced labour laws (no exploitation), and female nurses leaving the
workforce (at least temporarily) to start families and branching out to
other fields.
The local nursing schools cannot cope up with this demand. As such,
prospects and opportunities in professional nursing should be given
serious consideration by GCE (Adv. Lev) students in their search for
careers abroad.
The word NURSE is used very loosely in Sri Lanka but in the above
countries though, definitions are very specific. Everybody dressed to
look like a nurse is not loosely called a nurse.
In the field of nursing there are many different levels of skills and
education and each has its own name and limits of skill and function.
At the very top is the Registered Nurse who has at least three to
four years of education in approved schools with approved curricula.
They usually have higher diplomas or Bachelor's degrees. Entry into
these courses require at least GCE Adv. Lev. Science knowledge. It is a
job with serious responsibilities and rewards and of high social
recognition as they are truly the doctor's representative by the
bedside. With effort and adequate basic education some can even become
doctors. Starting basic salaries in the USA are about $4,500.00 per
month. With overtime etc incomes of over $6,000 are common.
Working under the supervision of registered nurses are Para-nursing
staff. They have lesser responsibilities but are an integral part of the
patient care team. Depending on the level of skill and study they are
called Licensed Practical Nurse, Enroled Nurse, Nurse Aide, Vocational
Trained Nurse etc. in different countries.
Their usual study courses are about 18-24 months and entry level
education is lesser than for a registered nurse. Their demand is the
same as for registered nurses.
Working under Para-Nursing staff are the Personal Caregivers,
Personal Care Aides, Care Workers etc. Their entry level education
criteria and course duration are much less, usually about six to eight
months. Their demand is even higher than the above categories.
If one is aspiring to go abroad, a basic requirement for all these
job descriptions is fluency in English. This has to be proved by passing
the TOEFL or IELTS examinations or equivalent. After passing this
examination a "professional nursing examination" has to be taken (in
English) depending upon the level of skill. Passing these examinations
is a must to get a visa to go to the above countries as a nursing
person.
Needless to say, if one studies the nursing courses in English itself
one's fluency level automatically increases. The American College of
Health Sciences was the first school to offer an approved foreign
curriculum entirely in English. There are only a few such Ministry of
Health approved schools where education is entirely in English.
From experience it can be said that such students easily acquire the
required levels of fluency in reading, writing and speaking. Another
modern requirement in nursing (abroad) is computer literacy. It is safer
to follow courses given by schools that also incorporate computer and
English courses in their curriculum.
Once qualified under one of the above categories, the scope of
nursing practice is vast unlike in Sri Lanka where practice is more or
less limited to hospital settings.
In the USA for example, a nursing background will be given preference
in areas like teaching, journalism, airline stewards, travel agencies,
travel companions, large corporations and factories for in house health
care management, sports teams, health education, student health care
facilities, family planning organizations, in home elderly care,
hospital public relations, pharmaceutical research and sales, medical
laboratories, medical research, quality assurance programs, medico-legal
assistants, nursing school faculty and even entry level politics.
Despite gloomy predictions of the economy in many countries, the area
of nursing offers steady jobs and security. It is indeed an opportunity
of the next 50 years.
In the long run the image of Sri Lanka as a country that produces
skilled and intelligent labor (as compared to unskilled uneducated
housemaids) will also be improved and the dollars will help too. |
