Why the US has so many Filipino nurses
The US colonized a country and built a labor supply.
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Filipino nurses have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus in the US. That’s because they make up an outsized portion of the nursing workforce. About one-third of all foreign-born nurses in the US are Filipino.
Since 1960, 150,000 Filipino nurses have come to work in the US. And that’s because over the past century the US built a pipeline that draws nurses from the Philippines every time it faces a shortage. This system began in the early 20th century when the US invaded and colonized the Philippines and lives on through today.
To understand the long history behind the large presence of Filipino nurses in the US and how and why it continues to this very day, watch the video above. And let us know what you think in the comments!
If you want to learn more, here are some additional resources you can check out:
For a more in-depth look at the toll the coronavirus is taking on Filipino nurses check out the ProPublica piece ““Similar to Times of War”: The Staggering Toll of COVID-19 on Filipino Health Care Workers”
https://www.propublica.org/article/similar-to-times-of-war-the-staggering-toll-of-covid-19-on-filipino-health-care-workers
To browse more archive images of Filipino nurses check out this great digital exhibit by Ren Capucao, who was our main source of archival images for this video:
https://uva.digication.com/ren.capucao/exhibition
If you want to learn more about the history of Filipino nurses and the US check out this article by Catherine Ceniza Choy, featured in our video:
https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2019/09/30/why-are-there-so-many-filipino-nurses-in-california/ideas/essay/
If you want to go even deeper, here is her book-length study “Empire of Care”:
https://www.dukeupress.edu/empire-of-care
To understand the colonial history of the Philippines, that starts well before the US invasion, with the Spanish colonization in the 16th century, you can start here:
https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/the-philippines-an-overview-of-the-colonial-era/
To get a snapshot of the crucial role immigrant health care workers play in staffing the US health care system, here’s a study filled with insightful data by the Migration Policy Institute:
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/immigrant-health-care-workers-united-states
And for anyone looking to dig deeper into Filipino American history in the US, here is a link to the Filipino American National Historical Society:
http://fanhs-national.org/filam/
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32 Comments
Government abroad must b thankful 4 d Filipinos health workers, 4 they offered thier lives 2 protect and care them from d covid 19….
Tapos e babash ng kapwa Filipino sa isang video sa Canada na low quality daw mga Filipino nurses
evil usa!
Remember US have a lot of benefits.
WE NEED BONGBONG MARCOS FOR 2022 IN THE PHILIPPINES… WE NEED TO STEP UP.. AND GET AWAY FROM TRADITIONAL LIBERAL PARTY. WE NEED MORE AUTOCRACY
“Instead of improving pay or working conditions the US …(insert shady moment in history here)”
im not a nurse but i wouldn't blame Filipino nurse to leave our country because of financial problem, when the pandemic start, our government treat our nurse unprofessionaly. 💔 our nurse has to work non stop, they didn't give our nurse or any of our medical frontliners a shuttle services so they have to walk on the edsa road. They focus giving funds to our police and military 🙄 and seriously our police officers here have easy 💸, not all of them but alot of them didn't do they job well that's why when you go to the Philippines you'll notice that some police officers here are obese. I'm an incoming medtech and i know that nurses job are more stressful and physically tiring .
My filipino nurse is always grumpy
The Martial Law is something we don’t learn in Philippine school
the Marcos regime should be elaborated more
1:40
During covid , Philippines treated our nurses and other hospital staff even worse ! They are so underpaid , under appreciated, overworked, taken for granted . The government likes the police more in a pandemic . IN . A. PANDEMIC .
The US or California has a lot of Filipino Nurses? "good kind of colonialism?!"
Thanks for sharing our history!!! People need to learn more ❤️🇵🇭🙏🏽
Pero ang pinakamalaking dahilan eh SAHOD!!! Sobrang taas ng requirements ng mga companies dito sa Pilipinas pero ang sahod di na sasapat. Yung mga palaking tiyan na government officials na lumilikom ng limpak limpak na Pera walang balak kumilos… Sa sobrang resilient ng Pilipino sanay na sila sa bare minimum na serbisyo from the holier than thou public SERVANTS kaya pati sa sahod bare minimum din…
Nakakahiya at nakakasuka na yung mga frontliners delayed ang sahod kakarampot na hazard pay di pa maibigay pero ang mga buwayang safe sa kanya kanyang nilang air-conditioned houses di pumapalya ang paychecks…
ANG US MAHIRAP MAG APPLY NG TRABAHO PERO GUSTO PARIN NAMIN MAG APPLY JAN KASI MALAKI ANG SWELDO AT MAGANDA NA BANSA.
SYEMPRE SAAN BA MAGTUNGO ANG MGA EMPLEYADO SA LUGAR NA MAGANDA ANG SAHOD AT BENEPISYO.
I salute all the nurses especially the ones who decided to stay and work in their home country. Overwork and waaaaay underpaid. You guys are saints 🙏
simple…the salary and benefits…
A hearbreaking footnote that the video missed is that some of the Filipino nurses who go to the US every year are actually doctors in the Philippines. That's how dismal the wage of healthcare workers here in the Philippines.
ronald brought me here
Bumalik kayo sa third world country niyong bansa
"Filipino don't wanna be seperated to thier family but they have to do it for thier family"
-my filipino friend
Not just the USA , Canada has almost 1 million Filipinos, and lots are nurses,and other medical trades,
Meanwhile in the Philippines, we're still experiencing poor healthcare system services from our government. They can't reach out to some rural areas, and has a lot of corruption in its department
Wait for me America. 😅
Just to let you know….we can win a war by cutting connections to the companies sending ofw's
Even today, your McDonald's minimum wage crew in the US have better pay than a lot of our underemployed engineers and accountants here in the Philippines. Filipinos are still migrating to other countries for better paying jobs.
My mom is nurse💀
My white friends dad had Huntington’s and he was in a care facility i remember her telling me the nurses weren’t taking care of him he lost heka weight. And then he got a new nurse she was so good to him he hand fed him and made sure he actually ate. She was forever grateful for the love and care of her father.
My respects to them. They do work very hard and take their work seriously.
My aunt is a nurse in UK and I'm proud of her.
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