Call Center Agencies Unfriendly to Filipino Nurses Jan 27, 2011 Olivia Estampador This article features Filipino

nurses' difficulty in finding jobs in call center agencies despite of their academic credentials. There is news circulating that a good number of nurses are finding it hard to land a job in the call center industry. True or False? For a few years now, the said industry has been growing and thriving in the Philippines. One main reason for this stems from economics. Why hire one American when you could employ five Filipinos for the price of one? In these times of economic difficulty, a businessman would think wisely in spending their money on human capital. Those five Filipinos are five times more productive than one person. How can I say so? Salary of Call Center Agents (Filipino and American) According to the article, "Does Outsourcing of Jobs Hurt Americans?" from bloggista.com (accessed February 06, 2011), businessmen operating call centers, transcription business and offshore shared services pay their Filipino employees with the initial range of salary from Php 16,000 to Php 20,000 per month. As of today, February 07, 2010, the exchange rate of dollar to peso is Php 43.77. This means that in USD, the salary in peso is equivalent to USD365.54 to USD456.93. In comparison, the average rate an American receives per seat per hour, call is from USD15.00-USD25.00. If one American call agent goes to work in an eight-hour shift, five times a week (20 days/month), this means that in a month, he or she earns approximately USD2400 to USD4000 per month. Mathematically speaking, the salary of USD2400 is precisely equivalent to the salary of 6 Filipinos. To add to this advantage, those five individuals produce quality work. Since Filipinos are known as persevering and hardworking, this is a win-win situation for businessmen in this industry. The result? They flock the Philippine Islands and in turn, many college graduates from different professions gather around those mushroomlike call centers. These degree holders tend to end up as a call center agent whenever they fail to get a position in their respective profession. Filipino Nurses and Unemployment Currently, Filipino nurses, due to the oversupply, are having a hard time finding positions in hospitals as a nurse trainee, a volunteer or as a staff nurse. The plight of the Filipino nurses is difficult and has made thousands of nurses jobless or if not, employed in a profession unrelated to their field of expertise. However, it seems that not only are hospital positions hard to find, but also call center jobs. It seems that these company are wary in hiring nurses as they are more likely to quit their job once a hospital job becomes available. Their level of commitment is in question which raises concern to the employers. The training it entails for entry level call center agents costs. Therefore, if Filipino nurses quit their jobs as call center agent only months after being hired, then the training cost would eclipse their value as workers. Call Centers and Filipino Nurses A friend of mine applied for a call center agent job. She went through the stages of interviews. At the last step, her interviewer turned her down after finding out she was a nurse. This instance is even more supported by FilipinoNursesNews.com in its article entitled "Call Center Companies in the Philippines are Not Earger to Hire Nursing Graduates as Call Center

Agents". According to the report, accessed February 03, 2011, a number of nurses are finding it hard to land a job in call centers. Although this is discriminatory, the logic in which these companies base their decisions cannot be blamed. The truth is, if you're the employer, you would train a worker who would serve you for long-term than short-term. This double standard is not yet widespread. In fact, I know several nurses who are working in call centers. However, if this becomes a trend, then, the unemployment rate of the country will increase as more nursing graduates add to the pool of jobless ones. It is quite sad especially when studying Bachelor of Science in Nursing is quite expensive. If this bit of news is even genuine, I hope that the call center industry give nursing graduates a chance to prove themselves. Not only because they are qualified (or overqualified, if I may), rather most are in need of money to support their families. Even if nurses want to get a job in their profession, sometimes, circumstances leave them no choice. The times are hard. They might just find out that more would stay on the job instead of braving the uncertain world of unemployment. Read more at Suite101: Call Center Agencies Unfriendly to Filipino Nurses http://www.suite101.com/content/call-centeragencies-unfriendly-to-filipino-nurses-a339168#ixzz1IN73iRQo Call Center Companies in the Philippines are Not Eager to Hire Nursing Graduates as Call Center Agents Filed Under Rumour has it Call center companies in the Philippines are not really eager to hire nursing graduates to work as call center agents rumor says. Right now, there are many nursing graduates who are still waiting for their applications to be approved locally or abroad. Many of them are already registered nurses (board passers) but was told to wait for a while due to the oversupply scenario we seems to be having now. These group of nursing hopefuls have to look for a job temporarily while waiting for their visas or applications to be approved. They have to at least help to recoup some of their expenses during their studies in college to become a nurse. Without any slot in local hospitals, what is their next best choice? The call center industry in the Philippines is the next best job opportunity. Call centers and BPO companies are thriving in the Philippines for several years now. And there is big hope in the horizon, based on recent reports from economic and business forecasters, that the industry will bring in more jobs in the future. Many college graduates from different professions end up in the call center if they cant find a job suited to what they studied for. The same is now true for nursing graduates. However, rumor has it that not many call center companies today are keen on getting thesenursing graduates in the industry because of the very poor turnout of quality English speakers. Call center companies are very particular with how the applicants express themselves in English. It is highly probable that the nursing graduates have been tagged as poor English speakers which I strongly disagree. Add to this is the doubts of long term commitment from the nursing graduates since they are just waiting for their VISAs or work permits to go abroad to be approved. I think this one is a valid concern. One applicant said that as soon as the recruiters found out that they arenursing graduates, the recruiters are not interested anymore. No one can blame the call center companies. The call center agents are typically trained for some time and it entails much costs to be invested in them by these companies. On top of that, competition in the industry triggers more costs for hiring making the call center companies become more selective of the candidates that are dedicated and committed to work for the industry to ensure greatest return for their money. If this is the case, then the future is gloomy for the future nurses. If the oversupply is not addressed and the demand is not created by the Philippine government, we will have anursing pool added to our unemployment rate.

We certainly hope that the call center industry would bring in more from the nursing profession and remove such discrimination over nursing graduates if these rumors are even true. http://www.filipinonursesnews.com/call-center-companies-in-the-philippines-are-not-eager-to-hire-nursing-graduatesas-call-center-agents/ Registered Nurses' Perceptions of Nursing: Satisfaction with Current Job and Relationships with Others Satisfaction with Current Job and Relationships with Others In both surveys, RNs were asked how satisfied they were with their present job. Figure 1 shows that among all respondents RNs were generally increasingly satisfied with their jobs, as the percent of RNs who were very satisfied with their jobs increased significantly from 21% in 2002 to 34% in 2004. Moreover, significantly more RNs in both surveys were satisfied with their jobs than those who were dissatisfied (83% in both surveys reported they were either very, moderately, somewhat, or a little satisfied). We suspected that the degree of job satisfaction might vary according to the type of position RNs were employed in and highest education attained. However, little variation was found in the percent of RNs who were either very or somewhat satisfied with their jobs when these parameters were examined, although RNs with graduate degrees were significantly more likely to be very satisfied with their present job (see Figure 2). Figure 1. Registered Nurses' Satisfaction with Current Job, All Respondents, 2002 and 2004

Figure 2. Registered Nurses' Satisfaction with Present Job by Position and Highest Education Degree, All Respondents, 2004

Thus, to better understand what might explain RN satisfaction with their present jobs, multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the variables that were statistically significant predictors of high and low levels of job satisfaction in both the 2002 and 2004 surveys. We constructed a model containing demographic, employment, economic, type of position, work setting, and job characteristic variables, performed stepwise regression using the 2002 data, and then confirmed the model (with a few minor changes) using the 2004 survey data. Results of the regression analysis showed that the increase in job satisfaction was predicted by relatively few variables; namely, RNs who reported their organizations emphasized patient care, management recognized the importance of their personal and family lives, satisfaction with salary and benefits, high job security, and positive relationships with other nurses and with management. Decreases in job satisfaction were predicted by feeling stressed to the point of burnout, feeling burdened by too many non-nursing tasks, experiencing an increase in the number of patients assigned, and having a general negative overall view of the health care system. Table 1 shows changes between 2002 and 2004 in several of these predictors of job satisfaction among RNs who work in direct care positions in hospitals. These RNs generally perceive overall improvements in several aspects of their job. For example, although a majority strongly agreed that their "job is so stressful that they feel burned out," more RNs in 2004 (34%) than in 2002 (25%) disagreed with this statement. Also, the percent of RNs who either strongly agreed or agreed that front-line management recognizes the importance of RNs' personal and family life increased from 42% in 2002 to 57% in 2004. In addition, more RNs in 2004 (44%) strongly agreed that their current position provides them with job security than in 2002

(38%). On the other hand, when the amount of non-nursing tasks involved in their jobs was considered, no improvement had occurred since 2002. The quality of relationships among nurses and other nursing personnel also was assessed in both surveys. Overall, Table 2 shows that in both surveys more than 80% of RNs working in direct care positions in hospitals perceived relationships between RNs as good, very good, or excellent. Moreover, the percent of RNs who perceived very good or excellent relationships among nurses increased notably from 53% in 2002 to 72% in 2004. In the 2004 survey but not in the 2002 survey, we broadened the assessment of relationships to include RNs' relationships with licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and support staff. The data show that RNs' perceived a better relationship with other RNs than with either LPNs or support staff. In fact, only 9% of RNs perceived an excellent relationship with support staff compared to 21% with LPNs and 26% with other RNs; similarly, more RNs perceived a fair or poor relationship with support staff than with other nursing personnel. RNs' Perception of a Nursing Career RNs were asked to indicate, independent of their present job, how satisfied they are with being a nurse? Data from among all respondents in both surveys (see Figure 3) showed that nearly nine in ten RNs (87%) were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with being a nurse. Notably, the percent of RNs who reported being very satisfied with being a nurse increased from 37% in 2002 to 46% in 2004. Although not reported in Figure 3, the same pattern was found when RNs were analyzed by different positions, including those working as researchers, managers, administrators, and RNs who worked in non-acute care settings: once again, the vast majority were very or somewhat satisfied with being a nurse, and more RNs in 2004 than in 2002 reported being very satisfied with being a nurse. Figure 3. Registered Nurses' Satisfaction with Nursing as a Career, All Respondents, 2002 and 2004

As discussed earlier with respect to identifying the predictors of RNs satisfaction with their present job, correlation and multiple regression analyses were conducted to better understand what might explain RNs' satisfaction with nursing as a career. Nearly the same variables that were correlated with job satisfaction also were correlated with satisfaction with nursing as a career, although the magnitude of the correlations were lower for the latter. Results of the multiple regression analysis indicated that increases in satisfaction with a career in nursing (just like satisfaction with current job) were statistically significantly predicted by RNs who reported their organizations emphasized patient care, management recognized the importance of their personal and family life, satisfaction with salary and benefits packages, job security, positive relationships with other nurses and with management. In addition, opportunities to influence decisions in the workplace, recognition of accomplishments, overall physical health (healthier people reporting more satisfaction) also predicted satisfaction with nursing as a career. Decreases in career satisfaction were predicted by feeling stressed to the point of burnout in their current position, feeling burdened by too many non-nursing tasks, experiencing an increase in the number of patients assigned, and having a general negative overall view of the health care system. In the 2004 national survey, we sought to obtain RNs' perceptions of some of the characteristics of people that would be a good match for a career in nursing. Table 3 shows that among all respondents, nine in ten RNs agreed that nursing was a good career for people who want a secure job, and eight in ten agreed that nursing was a good career for men. Fewer RNs, but still a solid majority, agreed that nursing was a good career for people who are good at science or who rank in the top 20% of their high school class. However, when asked about whether nursing was a good career for people who want respect in their jobs, less than half of RNs agreed with this statement.

Both surveys asked how likely RNs would be to advise a qualified high school or college student to pursue a career in nursing. Data in Table 4 show that among all respondents a majority (60% or above) of RNs in 2002 definitely or probably would recommend nursing, with even higher percentages (above 70%) in 2004. Moreover, across the different subsets of samples analyzed, the percentage of RNs who would definitely recommend nursing as a career grew significantly over time, nearly doubling from 17% in 2002 to 33% in 2004. The percentage of RNs who probably would not recommend nursing fell in 2004 compared to 2 years earlier. In addition, minorities in both surveys were significantly more likely to definitely recommend nursing as a career than their white counterparts. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/508157_3 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/508157_4 Nurses in Call Centers Written by Michin Sunday, 19 October 2008 Call Center Industry nowadays has the large population of having the agents who are licensed nurses. According to Philippine Nurses Association (PNA), most of their nurses are now working in call centers. This resulted of low demand of nurse in different hospitals in the Philippines. Also, the large amount of population of newly grad and newly licensed nurses could not suffice in its low demand of work. Training is one of the requirements of being a nurse; they could not work regularly without passing the said training. This is really a hard thing onto the nurses. Instead of waiting for the result of the training, they resort in applying in an instant and easy job which is being a call center agent, because the only important requirement for this job is being competent in speaking English Language. In fact, they could have the salary of 12,000 to 16,000 in call center compared to a low salary in the hospital from 6,000 to 8,000 in private and 10,000 in public sectors. This is the reality that PNA is facing nowadays. http://www.callcenterphilippines.net/news-blog/nurses-in-call-centers.html Two nights ago, news on TV confirmed the oversupply of nurses in the Philippines. Statistics on unemployment of Filipino (Pinoy) nurses hit a whooping 150,000 (estimated count). According to government sources, this figure is actually lower than the previous estimate of 400,000 unemployed (and underemployed) nurses in the Philippines but still confirms that there really exists an oversupply of nurses in the country. An article about unemployment of nurses is directly related to the number of board exam takers (see Complete List of Nursing Board Exam Passers for June 2008). Another article I have written about this topic was Oversupply of Nurses in the Philippines Largely Contributes to the Philippine Unemployment Rate where the discussion focused on the rate of unemployment in the Philippines in general and the contribution of nursing graduates and registered nurses in the rate of unemployment in the Philippines in particular. One of the threats of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) was closure of nursing schools if their performance in the Nursing Board Exam will not improve. This threat remained a word-of-mouth because so far, there had been no reports on schools ordered by CHED for closure. If there had been schools ordered by CHED to stop offering Bachelor of Science in Nursing, this author did not know about it. If there were schools, I doubt if their number is significant to minimize the enrollment of students in the degree program (BS Nursing). The oversupply of nurses in the Philippines should be addressed right from the home level. This is because parents/relatives of the students are the ones forcing their child/ren to enroll in BS Nursing because of the bright future this course could bring

someday. While this is true in some cases, majority of our Filipino nurses have not been that lucky in their quest for a greener pasture and overall success in their chosen field of specialization. Hospital administrators and academician agree that the quality of Nursing graduates have long been declining. Quality of nursing education could also be blamed. Quality of nursing education is becoming lower each year and adding another year to the New 5-Year Nursing Curriculum in the Philippines is not a practical solution if the primary objective of this new curriculum is to control the growing number of enrollees per year. Quality teachers (clinical instructors) should be employed and stringent screening of nursing students should be done becaue I strongly believe that to overcome the oversupply of nurses in the Philippines, quality education should be improved by way of improving the quality of educators as well as the quality of educands. This way, the population of nursing enrollees will go down and good clinical instructors will educate better a manageable number of students, making the the teaching-learning process more effective.

Are you a Board Passer Nurse without a Job? Maybe You Also Lack Hospital Training and Experience.
September 30, 2008 Filed Under Insights, Rumour has it Comment

Based on what has been reported in many news angle, it seems that the lack of training facility for nursing graduates such as local hospitals, including government-owned and controlled in the Philippines are producing more and more unemployed nurses. Although many of our unemployed nurses passed the local nursing board, one of the key pain of nursing recruiters in the country is the lack of the nurses experience and training in actual hospital work. Without it, they cannot be endorsed to potential foreign employers who are seeking experienced nurses only. The root cause of the problem is not the oversupply of nurses per se but the lack of government funding even to hire these nurses in the government-owned hospitals. If the government can allocate funds for this and provide even temporary employment to ournurses, then they can go out and find work elsewhere after. The sad news is, there are reported cases that some new nurses are even sacrificing and more than willing to pay the local hospital just to admit them so they can have work experience in their resumes. This is becoming a trend and some folks are reported to be benefiting from it. It is also well known that there are a lot of shortage of nurses and doctors in most of the government owned hospitals aside from the scary facilities that have not been refreshed for years due to lack of funding. Some patient are more afraid of contracting sickness inside government hospitals than their ailments. We urged the Philippine government to look into this funding solution quickly. Adding necessary funding to local government hospitals so they can hire nurses (and doctors) to gain experience is a win-win trade off not only for the nurses but also for the sick Filipino folks as well.

What are the Necessary Benefits a Call Center Agent Should Have?
Date Published: 19th November 2010 Read more at http://www.articlealley.com/article_1854491_15.html?ktrack=kcplink Many of us are not aware of the repercussions of working in a call center company. Being a call center agent is not a simple job. Some people took it lightly as the easiest job nowadays because a bachelor's degree is not a requirement. Nevertheless, if you take a deep look into the real entity of a call center agent, you would realize how arduous and challenging their work can be. Not to mention the health risk that one gets from this nocturnal job and the danger of traveling to the office at night or at wee hours in the dawn.

This type of career is a good opportunity specially for the young professionals. It helped a lot of people in the Philippines, employing 372,000 jobs and contributed $6 billion to the national revenue in the year 2008. However, these companies do not want to admit that employee retention is now a common problem in the call centerindustry. The commencing salary of the newly hired agents today is getting low, the incentives of a regular agent is disappearing, and the poor mentoring of the basic telecommunication skills to novices, are just some of the issues that these companies are facing. In fact, these companies have gained an attrition rate of 19% according to the Call Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP). This attrition rate indicates that there is a demand of these agents for an increase in the cash component of their remuneration. The parameters of providing a high salary rate for these agents should be administered by the human resource department, and they should implement necessary measures of setting up a high standard rate. The necessary benefits should be provided by every company in order to avoid future mass resignation and tardiness, and most importantly, to maintain complete daily head counts. The number of agents in a team per day would greatly affect the workforce specially for the commission based projects. Working at night shuts down the body system of an agent during day time and keeps them alive during sundown. This extraordinary work hours can cause various health problems such as eye strain, voice strain, hearing problems, and musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). The drastic change of one's natural biological clock can also contribute to some health problems such as insomnia and anemia. To compensate for this common health problems the management should provide health care coverage through Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) once these agents become regular employees or when they have tenured for at least 3 months. It is also best to have nurses on duty for 24 hours since these companies operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, and a doctor for a regular consultation at least once a week. A daily dose of vitamins maybe supplied and healthy meals should be given rather than cups of coffee to keep them physically fit. Read more at http://www.articlealley.com/article_1854491_15.html?ktrack=kcplink