Decapping a nurse

By Rolo B. Cena

Hushed Poppies

Dumaguete Star Informer

August 19, 2012

Cebu City, Philippines – Yo is a registered nurse and works for one of the best private hospitals in Cebu.  I first met him when I visited a friend who was confined.  Weeks after, I chanced another one at the pre-departure area of Mactan International Airport.  He was on his holiday trip to Bangkok, Thailand while I was on my business trip to Manila.  We took the same flight to Manila though.

Normal to my work to deal with people anytime of the day, I somehow managed to contain Yo shortly after I started the conversation.  He began talking about his life and what has become of him.

Yo, whose 27^th birthday that week was celebrated with his friends in the festive Thai capital, has been a call center agent for four years.  As he recalled, it was not an easy way in; screening was somehow tough.  The online tests were moderate to difficult; the interviews were tough, too.  Educational background though is not a problem.

That’s where the talent attraction is working day-in and day-out.

To some, working at the call center is a fad; something at the peak “for a day.”  To others, it is bread and butter.  At whatever level of comprehension one has about working in this back office support businesses, it’s his call.  One thing that attracts me to talk to nurses who are working in this type of industry is this:  they are under-employed!  And their licenses?

I have no qualms about the industry.  For once in my life, I had been a member of it occupying a top management position.  Arguably though, I can relate with Yo when he said that it was somehow a tough way in.  Conversely, as revealed by most of them, it was an easy way out; and it is!

The BPO is considered the sunshine industry in the country today.  After unseating India as the BPO Capital of the world, the Philippines was hailed for registering 350,000 employees.  With this most recent development, more and more BPOs are investing in the country. The country’s call center revenues are expected to reach $5.7 billion this year, $200 million higher compared to India’s $5.5 billion. The industry not only boosts the country’s economy, but has become an answer for employment and an option for many Filipinos.

But what really attracts people to working at BPOs or call centers, especially Registered Nurses?

For one, newly graduates and yuppies looking for a different career path are more drawn into trying their luck in the call center industry, or generally, BPO.  Nurses are easy invites because they are already accustomed to graveyard shifts during their internships at the hospitals. 

Two, BPO industry pays more than regular jobs.  This is especially true if you are handling an international account or client.  Adding to their basic pay are the night differential and hazard allowances.  If your assignment is in sales, you get commission.  Additional perks range from shuttle bus, free hair cut, sauna, massage, free meals and family treats.

           

Back to Yo, the prospect of staying at the call center has become lethargic as it already gave him the comfort zone.  But leaving the industry is rather imminent.  Looking for a hospital work is more demanding than the thought of leaving the country for good.  The struggle to be capped and pinned as a Registered Nurse is a super achievement; working as a nurse at the hospital is more than that:  it is a commitment to the profession, self, and parents. 

Truly, the satisfaction of working and developing a career out of what you have loved to do from the start is by far greater than receiving higher pays for a job of lesser value and proposition to your profession.

Finding work is one thing; building a career is another.  The concoction of the two produces a different dimension that money can’t buy.  Undoubtedly, nothing beats the satisfaction one feels from being truly immersed to the meaning of profession.  People might observe it, but it’s only you who can feel it.