Japan Hiring Filipino Nurses

Due to the economic crisis the hiring of Filipino nurses to work in the United States has declined.  The trend is reported to be on the decline for years to come even though hundreds and thousands of baby boomers are in the brink of leaving the work force and soon will need nurses to take care of them.  My family live in Los Angeles County and there is no better place to see the need for nurses then LA.  Wherever you go, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, rehab, home health agencies are in dire need of nurses but nurses are in short supply.  I hope the government of Pres. Barak Obama will see the situation and make it a priority to open the country again for Filipino nurses to work here.  But with the economic crisis deepening I can’t see this happening in the near future.  My sister who is a nurse and luckily working in one of the hospitals in Cebu for a meager pay dreams of working in America but we told her that the best option for her right now is to apply for Canada.  My cousin who will finish her nursing degree this coming March who also dream of working here is hit with the reality that her dream might be put on hold for a while but she is still hopeful that she can work here eventually.

However, there are rays of hope for our kababayan nurses who is dreaming of working abroad.  One door slowly closing another door opening.  It is just been reported that Japan is hiring Filipino nurses under the Japan-Philippines economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).  Japan Ambassador Makatu Katsura said,

“We need nurses and caregivers in Japan. The demand for good nurses and caregivers remains unchanged.” [source]

Under the treaty, 200 nurses and 300 caregivers will be received annually. The first batch is set to arrive in Japan between April and June this year to take language training course for half a year before being assigned to hospitals and nursing care facilities.

Even though America is slowly closing its doors (this will not last long though), new doors are open.  As far as I know countries that are still hiring are Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, Singapore, and the Middle East.  I know that majority of the nurses if they have a choice will choose to work in America but since its a little bit hard to come in at the moment, apply to other countries that are still hiring and when the American door is wide open again you can apply.  Keep you head high Filipino Nurses there are a lot of oppotunities waiting for you.