MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) publicized in early 2009 that Japan was ready to hire 1,000 foreign nurses and caregivers over the next two years subject, of course, to their passing the language proficiency exams.

This was a concession included in the controversial Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).

Ever Lalin, similar to others in the first group of 98 nurses and caregivers who travelled to Japan May last year for a education stint preparatory to taking the Japanese nursing licensure exam, had no previous lessons in the Niponggo language.

“Halimaw ah (A monster’s feat),” cheered nurse bloggers when it was proclaimed last March that Ever, 34, was the sole Filipino to succeed at the hard licensure test and the only foreign candidate to achieve it on the initial test. Two Indonesians who had arrived a year sooner also succeeded. The test covered a skill test in “kanji,” Chinese characters that are a mindset away from those trained in the Roman alphabet.

Director Nimpha De Guzman of the Welfare and Employment Office of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) noted that tests had showed Ever had a good understanding for languages.

The nurse from Abra, noted De Guzman, had spent four years employed in a medical center in Saudi Arabia and came home talking in fluent Arabic.

Interviewed via email for a demonstration set by POEA-TV for the recent Migrant Workers Day celebration, Ever was quoted as saying it must have been her high motivation and dogged determination—for her professional satisfaction as well as the financial improvement of her family.

“I studied so hard…every minute counted,” she had told De Guzman. She learnt advanced Japanese review classes.

There was another thing going for Ever that other equally motivated Filipino nurses may not have had. The hospital she was assigned to—Ashikaga Red Cross Hospital—had a special intervention system for international trainees like Ever. A Japanese staff member was designated to be her mentor, De Guzman shared.

Immediately after she obtained her Japanese nursing license, the Ashikaga hospital given Ever an upgraded appointment to the emergency room, apparently a section of her choice.

While studying Japanese may be hard for a country so long involved with learning English, said officials, it’s not unattainable. Motivated by Ever’s example, a new group of trainees under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement has been dispatched.

Source: Inquirer.net

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