UK school offers new career path for Pinoy nurses

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino nurses could now become licensed nurses in United Kingdom and other European countries and work in hospitals in Europe, local recruitment agencies reported yesterday.

Job recruiters said the University of Hertfordshire, one of UK’s top universities, is offering a graduate program for Filipino nurses that could be used as a stepping-stone to work in the United Kingdom.

Under the program, licensed foreign nurses can take up additional degree of Bachelor of Science in International Nursing and become a registered nurse in two years.

The foreign nurses are allowed to stay in UK for another two years using their student visas, after they have completed the two-year degree.

Licensed nurses can also undertake further studies that would enable them to secure a five-year work and residency permit.

The degree in International Nursing is recognized all over the world, which may also allow them to work in countries like Australia, Canada and other European countries.

Lyn Karstadt, an official of Hertfordshire, is arriving in Manila next week to give a series of orientations and consultations with Filipino nurses.

Hundreds of Filipino nurses have left for the UK under the study and work program since 2007.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) had reported that more than 33,000 nurses were deployed abroad from 1995 to 2000.

Aside from the UK and the United States, Filipino nurses have also been hired in Austria, Norway and Japan.  – Mayen Jaymalin