Healthcare Worker Culture

In the international arena, one of the first things that come to mind at the mention of Filipinos is nurses or caregivers. With its origins dating back to the early 1900s when Filipinos served as nurses to American troops, it’s somewhat become the Filipino parents’ dream for their children. While it is a prestigious and hard-earned position, it is also a ticket for Filipinos to work abroad and earn good money. Filipino nurses are definitely known for being hardworking and caring but overall, many Filipinos are active in the healthcare scene. This includes clinical laboratory scientists or medical technologists, physical and occupational therapists, and doctors. Dominating the healthcare field creates some traditions and superstitions unique to Filipino health workers.

Toxic and Benign

These are terms you will hear a lot behind the scenes as a healthcare worker. Basically, a “toxic” person is someone whose presence makes the whole shift unusually busy. These people are not exactly lazy nor despised by their coworkers. For crazy unknown reasons unexplainable by science, their attendance and uncanny timing attract an influx of patients and multiple workloads within the span of a shift. The opposite is “benign” wherein their presence wards off the amounts of work to be done.
While timing and coincidences of the person’s shift play a role, there are truly people who fit into these categories. Ask any Filipino healthcare professional about it and you’ll be surprised that these types of people actually exist.

Noodles and Ice Cream

They say we are what we eat. As crazy as it sounds, the power of food can influence the trend of the shift. The meal that must be avoided at all costs during a shift is noodles. They say noodles will prolong the shift and make it busier. While you may have packed it for lunch because it was part of a birthday party leftover, you’re best eating it in hiding to protect yourself from your coworkers. The good news is that it can be reversed – through ice cream! Ice cream is believed to lessen the workload in a shift and bring about more benign duties. While there is no reason behind this (perhaps it freezes the influx of work?), who doesn’t want to enjoy some ice cream during a long day of work?

Underpaid, Overworked

Healthcare is an important aspect of our daily lives no matter what our background is. Despite these careers being classified as essential ones, their pay is often too little, not justifying the hard-earned degree, extensive work hours, and hazards that health workers face. The Philippines has been accused of having a “brain drain” wherein many of its best professionals often leave the country in search of greener pastures. While many blame the lack of nationalism and patriotism, it is actually the lack of compensation and unfair treatment that drives them to leave everything behind. The Philippines has probably one of the best healthcare training in the world (many foreign-born Filipinos earn their medical degree for a cheaper price and good training) but it all goes to waste if the government does not implement laws to ensure better pay for these professionals.