Filipino nurse migrants in Western Canada: An oral history

Ronquillo, Charlene Esteban; Boschma, Geertje

Abstract

The Philippines is often identified as the largest producer of nurses for export globally and Filipino nurses are joining the Canadian health care workforce at a steady rate contributing to the growing diversity of nursing practitioners. To date, little historical analysis exists of their experiences. This study explores Filipino nurses’ biographical oral histories in order to provide insight into their immigrant journey and integration into the Western Canadian health care workforce. The study examines how their individual experiences are intertwined with larger migration patterns, educational trends, and foreign presence in the Philippines. The study focuses in particular on Filipino nurse immigration to British Columbia and Alberta, using oral history interviews with immigrant Filipino nurses in these two provinces and selected nurses still in the Philippines.

Through exploration of life and work experiences, the study illustrates larger social trends reflected in individuals’ stories, as well as illustrating how larger social pressures were experienced by individuals. The study contributes an important historical understanding of the significant impact Filipino nurse immigration has on the Canadian health care system in the broader context of colonization and nurse migration.

Complementary to the impact on the Canadian system, how the educational, economic, and societal context of Filipino nurses in the Philippines shapes this phenomenon will be highlighted. The paper concludes that life history of a relatively small number of Filipino nurses provides important insight in larger migration dynamics and workforce tensions in nursing and health care.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Canadian Association for the History of Nursing Conference
• Start Date: Jun 18, 2010
• End Date: Jun 20, 2010
• Acceptance Date: Feb 28, 2010
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2010
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: nursing, Canada, Philippines
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/988036
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Canadian Association for the History of Nursing