Monday, July 26, 2010

FB Trasher

Who does not have a Facebook account in this day and age? FB is fun & entertaining... reconnecting with old friends and family, re-establishing ties however remotely... back and forth comments as if in a conversation, albeit dawdled responses... a venue to share photographs with friends and family... oh, what fun!... until...

Trashing a culture in FB is not at all fun. I chanced upon this posting on Kwing's page. Kwing, my sister, is a nurse working in London. For her and all the other Filipino nurses working abroad, this blog is for them.

One of the greatest icons of modern medicine, Sir William Osler, said, "The trained nurse has become one of the great blessings of humanity, taking a place beside the physician and the priest.... ". Beside... on a par with, not in a higher place than... the doctor. Surely, a nurse can offer her/his solution for consideration, with utmost respect for the doctors and not referring to them as morons, as this FBer, who calls herself Dana Groulx, does. Filipino nurses, whom she targets, are naturally caring and respectful. I am sorry that she despises these attributes, but these make them what they are... would've made Florence Nightingale very proud.

Filipinos have an accent when they speak English, as do other peoples who do not have English as their first language... duh! They speak with frequent pauses, always to refresh the thought and prevent the tounge to outrace the brain, hence be not a fool. Pronunciation?... not perfect!... but who has anyway? If a nurse has difficulty pronouncing the name of a medication, it does not mean that she/he cannot pass this medication to the patient properly. The only things that the Filipino nurse can dispense without prescription are comfort, compassion and caring. I am proud of my Kabayan nurses!

To Dana Groulx... the mouth does not have a backspace key. The words you choose to say are just as important as your decision to speak. You have upset a whole culture... demeaned a noble profession by your irresponsible remarks... bite your tongue because one day you might need a Filipino nurse to be your caregiver and friend.