INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
By Roger Bartholomew

Roger Bartholomew spends his life talking with students - both as a teacher and as a counselor. His position as president of International Education Specialists, Chairman of Southville Foreign University and Director/Teacher at Southville International School all involve listening to students and parents and advising them on their studies and careers. He is a frequent speaker in schools, colleges, universities, public forums and focus groups. He can be reached at rogerb@inter-ed.com.

RESILIENCE – THE ABILITY TO BOUNCE BACK AFTER DISASTER
AND MOVE ON TO SOMETHING BETTER

As typhoon “Ondoy” is exported to Vietnam and the next two typhoons queue up waiting for entry permits, the messages of sympathy and concrete acts of kindness coming from other countries suddenly get diverted to Somoa and Indonesia. We don’t have a monopoly on disasters and the limited amount of aid available is quickly dissipated. If the amount of money being used for the war in Afganistan and Iraq could instead be used……. Even in 1968, USD$25B was spent in one year alone on the war in Vietnam and that is how the Japanese economy grew with staggering speed to become the dominant economic force in Asia. But at the end of all of these natural disasters, once again the Philippines will be alone to clear up the mess, and rebuild homes and lives. Hence the use of the term RESILIENCE, which I believe is one of the very best character traits of the people in the Philippines; the ability to bounce back and smile in the face of adversity. And if there aren’t enough natural disasters to go round, throw in a few political ones – storm signal 4 will soon be hoisted.

Bounce back; where are the opportunities to bounce back? As always, they come from values education within the family and skills education from school and college. This month I want to focus on one of the country’s most prized resources – its Nurses. On July 1, 2009, Australia raised the bar on English language skills for Nurses coming to Australia from overseas. Effectively this prevented the large influx of nurses from India and the sub-continent, China, Eastern Europe and non-English speaking countries. Australia now anticipates that most nurses will come from Ireland, England, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Nurses from the first two countries can just walk straight in as Australian standards were mirrored on those of the UK. However those from the Philippines and Sri Lanka have to transition their qualifications to those of Australia.

Three weeks ago I flew down to Australia to get together all the details on how to transition from Philippine nursing qualifications to Australian. I focused on two States, Victoria and South Australia and visited nearly all of the Education Providers who run the Initial Registration of Overseas Nurses programs to find out very specifically the requirements and the costs to enter these programs, and what happens once the nurses complete the program. I was very well received as Australia now believes that the Philippines will provide most of its shortfall of nurses and in addition, Philippine nurses are held in high regard in Australia.

Education Providers fall into three categories: 1) Universities   2) Hospitals   3) Specialist training companies. All of these are regulated for the Initial Registration of Overseas Nurses Program by the Nursing Board of Victoria (for those in Victoria). In South Australia the universities work collaboratively with the Nursing & Midwifery Board. As such they are audited regularly and have to receive permission from the NBV for all the courses they run.

Classes typically are small (16 students) and comprise 3 - 4 weeks theory, followed by 6 – 8 weeks of clinical placement. Often the classes are conducted at the hospital where the clinical placement will take place, and there is a stated expectation that the hospital will employ the nurses once they successfully complete their program and become registered in the State.

To ensure that information about the requirements and costs disseminated in the Philippines is absolutely accurate and up-to-date, International Education Specialists will be holding an information session on Saturday, November 14th from 1.00pm – 6.00pm at the Asian Institute of Management Conference Center (opposite Greenbelt 1). Talks will be given every hour, Q & A sessions after every talk, and application/information packs will be available covering all the key information about the different education providers. Entry will be absolutely free of charge. Having listened to the talks and asked questions, nurses who know that they are (or will be) qualified for the program may receive the complete information package and make an application on the spot. The application fee is USD$50.00 or P2,500.00. For nurses who may not be able to attend on that date or would like to start their application earlier, please contact International Education Specialists on 819-1001 or ccpc@inter-ed.com or text 0918-912-5191 giving your name and that you are interested in a nursing career in Australia.

Resilience – bouncing back from obstacles and set-backs. One of the solutions is organizing a great career and a great future. See you there!