Nursing grads struggling to find jobs

WESTERN BUREAU:

A number of recently graduated nurses are struggling to find employment in Jamaica’s healthcare system despite the Government’s openness to recruiting foreigners to fill gaps.

Angela Rose* graduated from the University of Technology, Jamaica in November and passed the Regional Examination for Nurse Results (RENR), which is required to practise in Jamaica and other English-speaking Caribbean nations.

“I applied for jobs, but they are saying no jobs are available. I am not employed within any nursing sector, whether it’s private or public. I’m still working at a call centre and waiting for a job interview,” she told The Gleaner.

She was left surprised after reading a Gleaner article last week in which Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton was quoted as saying that he is not opposed to recruiting nurses from the Philippines.

“We want to engage our people first even before we seek to encourage and invite others to come in, but I don’t think we can leave that (overseas recruiting) off the table either, to be totally frank. As you know, we have over 300 Cuban healthcare workers here in Jamaica and we do have from other nationalities,” said Tufton, who was responding to a question posed by his opposition counterpart Dr Morais Guy in Parliament.

“To fill the immediate gaps, if we can’t source locally, we have to explore other options, and I think the Philippines is a worthy partner,” the minister added.

Despite the Government’s stance, Rose’s experience highlights a disconnect between the availability of jobs and the recruitment process. She said her applications to the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James and the Spanish Town Hospital in St Catherine have not yielded favourable results.

“When I applied at Cornwall, they said they would not have any openings until April or May. It was really surprising. Spanish Town Hospital [is] saying that they need nurses, but yet still capacity is full. I don’t really get that,” she bemoaned.

Rose expressed her desire to build her career in Jamaica, saying, “I have no intention of going abroad.” She has not attempted to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), which is required to work as a nurse in countries like the US, Canada, and Australia.

“I am trying so hard to build myself here with some assets and stuff like that. I would really love to know that tomorrow I [can] put on my uniform to go give my service back to my country,” she said.

NO LUCK

Another recent graduate, Samantha Gordon*, is facing similar struggles. She applied to several hospitals, including Cornwall Regional Hospital, Kingston Public Hospital and the University Hospital of the West Indies, but has yet to receive any positive responses.

“When I went to Falmouth to drop off my application, they told me that they aren’t hiring any registered nurses at the moment, but they will keep my application just in case something comes up,” she said.

“I applied to Cornwall Regional twice. The first time I applied, I didn’t hear anything from them. The second time, they sent me an email saying they got my application and would keep in touch, [but] they didn’t. I tried to reach out to find out what was going on and they told me that they are waiting on some information to start hiring nurses. To this day, I still haven’t gotten any calls or anything from any of the government-owned hospitals regarding getting a job,” Gordon said.

As she anxiously awaits a response from one of the numerous hospitals she has applied to, Gordon said that she has subsequently sought employment in another industry.

“It is not a nice feeling because during nursing school, I had to work at a call centre to fund my studies. After completing nursing school, I was sitting at home for quite some time because I wasn’t able to secure a job. It was actually my mother’s idea; she suggested that I find something else to do in the meantime. The pay isn’t great, but this is what I have to settle for, even though I have completed nursing school and paid millions of dollars in tuition, plus transportation,” she said.

Janet Jones*, another recent graduate, said she, too, has been trying to find a job, applying to institutions across the island. However, with her back now against a wall, she admitted to The Gleaner that her only hope might be to seek opportunities outside Jamaica.

“I have applied to Cornwall Regional, Percy Junor Hospital, May Pen Hospital, and Hospiten. I am considering applying all over Jamaica and relocating anywhere I get employment. Oh, I applied to Falmouth [Hospital] as well,” she said.

Dawn Marie Richards, president of the Nurses Association of Jamaica, told The Gleaner that she was not aware of the struggle to find jobs.

“I am not aware of the situation, [but] I am aware of the utterances of the Government. I would have to investigate because I know that there are facilities where there are nurses in orientation, so I could not respond to that,” Richards said.

Tufton clarified his position on recruiting foreign nurses, stressing that while local nurses will be prioritised, Jamaica may need to look internationally to fill certain specialised roles.

“There are a number of areas of specialisation where we need more persons who are not available locally, like operating theatre, nephrology nurse, etc. There are parishes and institutions where we can’t get nurses to relocate to live and work. Our first priority is to recruit locals. After this, if we have posts and can’t find persons, in the interests of patient care, we have to consider international recruitment,” he said.

*Names changed.

rochelle.clayton@gleanerjm.com