RP is training ground for China's nurses-to-be

What can be so extraordinary about a group of students studying “The Life and Works of Jose Rizal?" Well, for one, the classes are taught in Beijing, China. For another, the students are Chinese mainlanders who have no stake in Philippine affairs. “I don’t think we need to learn too much about these matters," says Zhang Chan, a 19-year-old girl from northeastern China. “But students have mainly lost interest because they can’t understand the lessons. Our English isn’t very good and the teacher speaks too fast." A twin sister younger by 27 minutes, Zhang Juan, realizes the value of learning about another country’s history and tradition but says that “talking about only one person’s life can get boring." The twins, however, are plodding on because they see education as the path to a secure future. The girls, along with about 50 others, are college freshmen at Beijing’s Yanjing Overseas University. They have come to the Chinese capital from various corners of the country – from the frigid north to the humid south, from the desert region to the coastal areas – in order to study nursing. Training in RP After a year of Philippine curriculum-based classes in Beijing, they head off to Tuguegarao, Cagayan, for studies at St. Paul University, Yanjing’s partner school in the Philippines. There, they will attend college for three more years until they finally obtain their nursing degrees. Then comes the real action: finding high paying jobs in the United States, Canada, England, Australia or maybe, even back home. The real picture is not as simple as that of a bunch of young men and women tantalized by the dollar and the euro. In informal class surveys, the most frequently cited reason for wanting to become a nurse was the desire to care for people in need of medical care. An exceptionally expressive 18-year-old girl wrote: “When I was young, I already had a dream to be a nurse. At that time, I only felt that white clothes are very beautiful. But now I know the society need(s) nurses to serve people and help patient to reduce their pains." Some of the students cite particular goal: to return to their hometowns to serve. The more pragmatic reasons, of course, came up. These included finding a secure job, earning a high salary and having prestige in society. “I want to have a bright future and make much money," said another 18-year-old from southeastern China. Yet a third student seemed to have stumbled on the perfect formula: “You can help others and earn a lot of money." Some responses painted a dreamy portrait of the profession, and reminded you that these people were barely out of adolescence. A nurse “is an angel of white clothes," scribbled one girl. An 18-year-old boy bursting with idealism wrote: “I want to do something for our world." Others gave straightforward answers, noting that the job would merely be a means to an end. One young lady candidly said that she wanted to “make money and try to do other job." Another student seemingly gripped by wanderlust said: “I want to be a nurse in England, then trip around the world." One girl had quite specific plans to go to the US and get a green card so she could “live in America with my parents." Family loyalty and devotion motivated a number of students. One 19-year-old admitted that her mother, in fact, had made the decision for her to enter this field. “My mother told me: to be a nurse will have a good future. Nurses is very less in our world now." Another girl’s attachment to her family seemed to jump out of the page: “I want to help my relatives. I can look after them very well." They are citizens of a country that is one of the world’s economic super powers but these young men and women still look beyond their borders in their search for a better life? And why do their motivations resonate so deeply among Filipinos? Rapid economic boom Since its Reform and Opening-up Policy was launched in the late 1970s, the Chinese economy has steadily evolved into Asia’s fastest growing economy. According to the World Bank, over the last 20 years, China has charted a six-fold increase in its Gross Domestic Product. As of last year, the international financial institution ranked China’s economy No. 4 in the world – next only to the United States, Japan and Germany. The rapid economic boom has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, but also resulted in an imbalance of wealth in society. “Some people become very rich and others become more poor. The gap is too large," says Tong Xin, a professor at the Peking University’s Department of Sociology, The income inequality has risen from 28 percent in 1981 to 41 percent in 2005, says the World Bank. Various sources offer differing data but in 2004, the National Population and Family Planning Commission of China put the number of people living in poverty at 150 to 200 million, or 11 to 15 percent of China’s 1.3-billion total population. The students at Yanjing University are a far cry from being impoverished. They come from middle and upper middle-income households, or families with means to send their children to school overseas. Compared with millions of other Chinese families, they live relatively comfortable lives. But like everyone else, they dream of better things – especially since they have witnessed how their more richly endowed citizens live in luxury. Twin sisters Zhang Chan and Zhang Juan come from upper middle class Chinese families. Their mother is an accountant, while their father works in a steel factory. Both have already finished studying nursing in a secondary technical school. Soon after, they worked as trainees in their town’s biggest hospital. As full-time hospital staff personnel, they can earn anywhere from 250 to 400 US dollars a month, but say this was still too little. They hope to eventually make it to the US, Canada or England to broaden their knowledge within the medical field, and to make between 2,500 and 3,500 US dollars a month. According to the twins, it was their mother who found out about the St. Paul nursing program. “Our mother searched the Internet for a good school so that we can go abroad." Another reason why young Chinese citizens find life overseas so appealing is the rabid competition in China to get into good colleges, and later on, the more rabid scramble to land a decent job. In their last year of high school, students take the standardized National College Entrance Examination, commonly referred to as the most stressful exam in the life of a Chinese student. The rigorous two-day test determines which class or college a person can enter, what type of course he or she can take up, or if college is even an option in the first place. For millions of high school students, this is the exam that would seal a future of either boom or doom. If a person does make it to college, the next hurdle is finding a job after graduation. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security, in a report published November 2006, said that “China, as the world’s most populous country, will continue to be troubled by unemployment in future years." Due to a growing labor force, “about 10 million urban residents will have difficulty finding jobs by 2010." At present, fresh graduates who do get employed receive an average monthly salary of 100 to 200 US dollars. In Chinese cities, this does not mean much more than food, public transportation allowance and a bed in a cramped apartment. Amid this socio-economic situation, the Chinese get a steady dose of information, through various mass media, painting the West as a land of affluence and opportunity. It is small wonder then that legions look to the West as the near-perfect solution to their problems. “In people’s mind, going abroad will be a way for them to easily become rich," explained Prof. Tong, who is also Director of The Research Center for China’s Workers. And if ever those schooled abroad ever return to China, they keep faith that their Western credentials will make it easier for them to get better jobs. In modern-day China, people realize full well that they must take the initiative if ever they want to improve and redesign their lives. And in the emerging design, the Philippines is becoming a part of the picture. Concerted effort The Yanjing-St. Paul program is the first of its kind, says the Philippine Embassy in China. Never before has there been a concerted effort to send Chinese students to the Philippines to study nursing, specifically after a preparatory period in China. The program was finalized in 2004 and is only into its second batch of students. The first batch of 40 students are already in St. Paul-Tuguegarao, studying double-time to overcome their language handicap, while coping with the difference in culture, food and climate. At a time when the rest of the world wants a piece of China, it’s a novelty to hear that the Chinese want a piece of the Philippines. The Chinese see the Philippines as an ideal transition point between the east and the west, a place that will not only sharpen their English speaking skills but also prepare them for entry into western culture. In this light, the Chinese relish the fact that Philippine education follows the western model, and that English is the primary medium of instruction. “The quality of education is the same as that of European countries, Western countries like America. That’s our main point," says Phoebe Sun, the St. Paul University System chief representative in China. Phoebe lived in the Philippines for four years, while taking up her master’s degree, so she can make a convincing case during her recruitment talks before fellow Chinese. A bachelor’s degree in nursing is also offered in China, but the training does not prepare them for jobs in the West, said Phoebe. “We compared the curriculum and the lectures, and the Chinese nursing course really cannot match the western style." When China-trained nurses eventually work with western doctors, miscommunication often ensues because of the differing ways of thinking. It is not surprising, then, that the St. Paul program is appealing to people who are already considered nurses in China. About a dozen of them are already in. For middle-class Chinese families who have high hopes for their children, it seems that the Philippines is the next best thing to sending their children to study in the west. So it comes as a bonus that the cost of education is deemed relatively inexpensive. At prevailing market rates, the school fees and room and board for four years come down to about 21,500 US dollars or approximately a million pesos. If the students went to the United States to study nursing, Phoebe said that the amount would only cover a year’s expenses. There are other factors working in favor of the Philippines. First, like China, it is also an eastern culture. “The students don’t go through a big culture shock," says Robin Sun, a coordinator at Yanjing University, who accompanied the first batch of students to Tuguegarao. Second, since the Philippines is also in Asia, the travel time between the two countries is not very long. Manila is only four-and-a-half hours away on a direct flight from Beijing. And from Manila, Tuguegarao is less than an hour away by plane. A giant leap forward This ocean-crossing, no matter how short, takes the Chinese a giant leap closer to their dreams. On the Philippine end, the St. Paul Sisters see this program as realization of a mission. Although the word “mission," in this case, might have religious connotations for Filipinos, Phoebe emphasized that religion is not part of the picture. Rather, St. Paul’s mission is, first, to “help the Chinese nurses improve their skills to match those of the west." Second, to motivate Filipinos to study harder by providing them with competition. Phoebe explains: “As people know, Chinese are diligent and smart, so if the Chinese are studying in the same campus, the Filipino students will say, ‘Wow, afterwards, they will be our competitors, so I really have to study hard and do my best for the future.’" The Chinese, indeed, are conscientious and hardworking students, and their Filipino counterparts will have their work cut out for them. But what at the outset may be an academic competition will, no doubt, one day extend to the job market. There is currently a huge demand for nurses in the US, but “the only location they can get nurses is the Philippines," said Phoebe. “Now, they’re really focusing on the Chinese, but the problem is the Chinese cannot speak English very well." If the Yanjing-St. Paul tandem does its job right, that hurdle may soon be overcome. Part of the equation, indeed, is the additional revenue these foreign students are bringing in to the Catholic school. “I think that’s also one of the reasons, but not really the main purpose," said Phoebe. “Of course, everything needs financial support." And it appears that other Philippine educational institutions have also begun to see the profitability of doing business with China. The Philippine Embassy said another nursing school has recently entered the Chinese market. At the moment, the Philippines has yet to position itself as a major education destination in Asia. “There are pockets of efforts, but not as strong as countries like Australia, Singapore and the UK," said the embassy. International standards of education also need to be ensured, otherwise, this story will end before it can get to the really good part. For now, the Philippines is playing gracious host and mentor to the children of China. After two-and-a-half more years, in 2009, the Chinese students are expected to begin graduating from St. Paul’s. Once they enter the international job market, only then will we see the fruits of the school’s and the student’s labor. In the mean time, as the Chinese students work towards achieving their dreams, the Filipinos need to ensure that they stay a step ahead of the competition. Otherwise, it would have been the greatest irony for the Philippines to serve as a highway to heaven for Chinese nursing students, but leaves down in the dumps the dreams of her own children. - GMANews.TV