Typical folded nurse’s cap (rear view)
Photograph:Taghats.com
Are we nurses being exploited for our kindness and dedication? Are we simply understaffed, or has the system failed us altogether?
I’m a 1994 graduate nurse. I spent my teenage years studying hard to become the best nurse I could be, because helping others has always been my passion. I graduated underage and wasn’t legally allowed to work with pay, so I spent two years working without a salary. My poor parents sent five children to school from what little they earned through farming. Somehow, we all graduated, did well in school, found jobs, and built lives of our own, and I’ll always be grateful for their sacrifices.
Back then, I wasn’t happy with how little nurses were paid in the Philippines. As a young nurse, I wanted to explore the profession and grow, and going abroad felt like the best opportunity. I also wanted to repay my parents for everything they’d sacrificed, knowing how high tuition fees were, especially at the private schools we attended (even though they were excellent).
So, I grabbed the chance to apply for work abroad. It took a long time. I was trained as an operating theatre nurse, but I took a job in a nursing home, thinking it would be a good way to start until I could qualify as a UK nurse.
I signed a contract in the Philippines through an agency in Manila. After exams and interviews, I passed, and my visa was approved. I eventually travelled to England and waited for the agency contact to introduce me to the employer. They had promised accommodation.
When I met the contact at the point we had just landed in the UK she handed me a new paper and said, “You’ll have to sign this, this is the contract.” I told her I had already signed a contract in the Philippines and didn’t know anything about this one. My original contract stated I’d be paid £10 an hour until I received my PIN as a registered UK nurse. But the new one she wanted me to sign offered just £2.75 an hour.
I was scared. I didn’t contact my family back home because I didn’t want them to worry. I signed it, thinking I’d deal with it once I was settled.
They provided accommodation and free food at the nursing home, and I worked hard to finish my adaptation period quickly. I passed and got my PIN. After that, I applied to work as a registered theatre nurse in a hospital, and thankfully, I was accepted.
I worked for many years, constantly improving and advancing in my profession, eventually becoming an advanced scrub practitioner. I truly enjoyed the camaraderie with my colleagues, and I was always willing to take on responsibility. I gave so much of myself, my energy, my time, and my passion to that workplace. It became my second home.
Then I had children. And that’s when I started to notice that something wasn’t right. The pay wasn’t enough. Childcare was so expensive that it nearly equalled my entire salary. It made me question how the system works. How can we be expected to work full-time, save lives, and raise children, and still be left with so little?
I opened a shop, sold things online, worked extra shifts, cared for my children, I was juggling everything. But life became routine. Eat, sleep, work. Repeat.
I decided to take control. I told my employer I was resigning and becoming self-employed. I said, “I’ll still be available if you need me.”
To me, there’s no difference between working just to pay someone else to look after your kids, or simply staying home and doing it yourself. I chose to spend that time with my children and actually enjoy it.
Since the demand in hospitals was so high, I decided to bring in some skilled nurses and start my own company. But when the hospital realised I was in control, they cut me off. They introduced frameworks so they could control agency pay, those big frameworks were the ones profiting, not the nurses, nor the small agencies. Yet in the media, it’s the agencies that get demonised.
More nurses joined my company because I paid them what they were worth. I know how hard nurses work, and I wanted to support them. I even helped a few failing hospitals improve their performance, efficiently filling the correct skill set for the job, and we improved their service. But then, things went downhill.
One hospital deliberately went into administration, withholding huge payments they owed to us, even though my small company had already paid the nurses. Another hospital maliciously broke the contract and encouraged staff to stay quiet about it. I could go on. The bullying from bigger companies, the dirty tactics. It’s all very real, and I swam through it.
Eventually, I slowed down and decided to take a break. Now, I’m happy to have time for family and myself, slowly helping place nurses who need work, while carefully navigating around these big companies. I’ve been enjoying creative work and rediscovering the things I missed while I was stuck in the rat race. I’m grateful to have seen how these larger corporations operate and to know how to move through life with more awareness. Most of all, I’m thankful I realised all of this before it was too late.
Have a good one,
Mariah 💗😊
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If I were king, I'd take the politicians' salaries and give them to the nurses and vice versa. I have the greatest of respect for people who take on a job I couldn't do myself. For 4 years I looked after my father who had dementia and it was the most difficult thing I've ever done. I almost ended up demented myself!
That would be fair, actually, it will never happen. What you did is admirable, so lovely of you. In my experience, looking after people with mental issues is the hardest thing. I went through 6 months of training in a mental hospital, and even though we were prepared for what we’d be facing, it still got to us all. It rubs off on you and we all ended up with dark circles under our eyes after couple of months, trying to comprehend what the patients needed or meant. Honestly, we felt like we were going crazy too! I really understand what you mean.
I am too. I also did what I had to do to raise my sons myself, and I also am glad I did.
Thanks!
Good for you; that's something to be proud of.
The corporate world are such rats
Agree, thank you.
I am surprised that in most countries, the professions that are most important to society, are poorly paid, as is the case of health and education. I live in Venezuela and I know that the health area also suffers from the same evils you point out: exploitation, low pay, abuse of power. The good thing is that you managed to get out of that system and now you are helping other people. No one who helps to save life deserves a salary on which can only survive. Greetings and good reflection
Yes, undervalued by the system. That is because we also let them. They call for help, and we come running because we feel obligated. Our vocation and dedication to our duties are being abused.. Yes, and I am pleased that I can now help out some nurses. Thank you for your kind words.
2,75£ what a theft, not even farmers get paid that low to catch tomatoes... You had to go through a lot of crap with the nursery company, people don't like to lose the exploitation power
Insultingly low, haha! I worked for a few months with that pay! I would have done it out of passion and goodwill, on my own terms.
Such a painful experience you went through. Must have been a lot to shadow all along. Some of these big people do not even care about others but more for their pockets. It’s ok to take a break and breath. Posterity is super proud of you so far