Filipino Nursing Herald

There have been a lot of comments posted on various forums regarding the proposed immigration bill in the U.S. Most of them are from confused and worried nurses who are waiting for the go-ahead to work and live in the U.S. Although the proposed immigration bill is currently being debated in the U.S Senate, let's not forget that the legislative process is a very long one. Even if the current proposal is approved by Senators, The Lower House has to come up with its own proposals and if they pass a bill that's very different from that passed by the Senate, then it would be tough to reconcile them. All that we hear and read about today regarding immigration reform are just proposals. The Senate may not even pass the bill that they have today. So, I see no reason to be all worked up at this time. There's no use getting worried over something that might not even happen. I suggest we use this time of waiting to prepare for the US NCLEX and improve our skills and gain additional wo...

A poll of nurses revealed that work-related stress is harming the sex lives of nurses in the U.K. The survey, which was conducted by the Nursing Times in London, also found that work-related stress had caused both physical and emotional problems for nurses. Almost 2,000 nurses were polled for the study. About 70% of the respondents said that work-related stress was affecting their physical and emotional health. About 44% said their sex life was affected, while 25% said they had started drinking more. The study also showed that about 30% of the nurses were getting sick more than usual and one in 10 nurses were smoking more due to stress.

A Washington newspaper reported that the U.S. House of Representatives may throw out the proposed immigration reform bill currently being debated in the U.S. Senate using a technicality. Under the proposed immigration bill, illegal aliens in the U.S. would be considered for a Z visa to be able to live and work in the country, but only after meeting a number of requirements, including paying back taxes. Based on congressional rules, any bill that is related to revenue genration must originate from the Lower House and not the Senate. Some congressmen reportedly will use this procedural rule to trash the proposed bill once it arrives in the House.

Found an interesting article by Sarah Clark, who compiled a short list of careers and matching salaries in the U.S. The figures quoted are simply meant to give a rough picture of the job market and they are obviously only estimates of real salaries, which would differ from company to company and from state to state: Business Salaries Accountants and auditors $56,880 Financial analysts $70,500 Human resources managers $87,580 Marketing managers $96,680 Culinary Salaries Cooks - private household $22,530 Manager of food preparation and serving workers $27,480 Chefs and head cooks $34,160 Food service managers $35,790 (in 2002) Nursing Salaries Home health aides $18,980 Nursing aides, orderlies, attendants $21,610 Licensed practical nurse (LPN) $31,440 (in 2002) Registered nurses $54,210 Multimedia Design Salaries Set and exhibit designers $40,000 Film and video editors $50,690 Multimedia artists and animators $57,520 Art directors $73,240

Here's an interesting Question & Answer feature by the Associated Press. The Q&A clarifies some of the complex issues related to the current immigration reform being proposed in the US Congress. To summarize some of the points raised in the Q&A: * The bill is still far from being a law. It has to go through several processes first. * Illegal immigrants in the U.S. would be given permits to live and work in the country after completing a registration process. They can only apply for citizenship after paying finex, backtaxes, passing security checks and returning to their home countries. * Petitions for family members of US immigrants who applied before May 2005 would still be processed. Beyond that, the US will no longer accept petitions for family mebers, except if they go through the merit/point system that will evaluate applicants based on education and skills. * Temporary workers will be allowed to work in the US but they can only stay for a maximum of six years. Th...

The Japanese government is keen on increasing the number of skilled workers immigrating to the country. Faced with an aging population, Japan needs to fill up its dwindling labor pool fast. Although the Japanese government allowed 1,000 nurses to come to work in the country, Philippine legislators failed to approve the plan. One of stumbling block to the plan is the examination that workers must take in the Japanese language. A key economic panel in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration is proposing to increase the number of students allowed in the country as a way of attracting more workers. Read more about this news from Bloomberg.

U.S. Senators on Wednesday voted to include the guest worker program in the proposed Border Security and Immigration Reform Act but not before cutting the number of visa allocation from 400,000 to 200,000 per year. In a 74-24 vote, the Senate also voted a provision that bars any adjustment to the guest worker visa allocation regardless of job demand. Senators also approved other amendments including raising border security personnel from 18,000 to 20,000; increasing the U.S.-Mexico fence from 200 to 300 miles; and expanding detention facilities to accommodate 31,500 detainees, up from 27,500 as earlier proposed. Other amendments, including those related to family petitioning, will be taken up in the next few days.