memoir of an immigrant nurse
By Jania Hebron
Healthcare is a major that is truly loved by many, not only does it increase one’s experience in the medical career, it also helps people learn how to aid others who seek their care and support. Doctors, nurses, dentists, these are all examples of the most significant people who deserve to be thanked because of their hard work. They constantly put their lives at risk to save people. Nursing is by far one of the most difficult jobs listed in the medical field. Nurse Practitioners specialize in monitoring health conditions and preventing diseases for their patients. [10] Their role is not a simple task, there are multiple requirements and steps need to be completed in order to be successful. Not only are they obligated to memorize each medication, but they also need to stay with their patients for as long as possible in order to give medical and emotional support. [They] feel guilty leaving their patients for the 10 to 30 minutes they (maybe) get to take for lunch. [5] Rodolfo Hebron, the main character in this so-called story, has been working for over two decades in this grueling, challenging, but overall rewarding career. Twenty-six longing years spent assisting people in need. Eight to ten hours a day for the whole week just to care for patients. “Is it worth it?”, I asked. “Definitely”, my dad responded.
Rodolfo Misola Hebron Jr., named after his father, was born in Zambales, Philippines on August 7, 1965. His parents, Abelina Hebron and Rodolfo Hebron Sr. gave birth to six children including Rodolfo. All of their names start with the letter ‘r’, Rodolfo, Rossana, Rowena, Raul, Ronald, and Rolly. Since Zambales is a province in the Philippines, pursuing his dream of becoming a doctor would be too hard so they all decided to move to a city in the future. After graduating from high school, Rodolfo then moved to Manila and studied college at the University of Santo Tomas, a famous private Catholic school in the Philippines. He went into the medical field during college to seek his dream of becoming a doctor. He graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree and became an intern for multiple jobs to become a doctor. He officially started working at the year 1989 and was hired as a doctor. Couple years after pursuing his dream, he met a lovely woman named Janette Bacud whom he married after falling in love with. The husband and wife continued to work hard to provide for their three precious children.
Back in Zambales, Philippines, Rodolfo’s dad, Rodolfo Hebron Sr. was a doctor in their local hospital. Rodolfo Hebron Sr. was a famous doctor in their town. He aided people who did not have money and insisted to pay for their bills instead. He visited homes of people that needed medical support and accommodated them. He was a doctor that was loved by all until he grew old. He became a hero for everyone especially his son Rodolfo. This motivated Rodolfo Hebron Jr. to enter the medical field. He wanted to follow the steps his father left behind and continue his legacy because he grew weak and passed away at an early age. Rodolfo was inspired by his dad’s actions and wanted to live his life the way his father did, he wanted to make his late father proud. Another reason as to why he decided to go into the medical field was because he wanted to save money for his future family. In the Philippines, it is common to study medicine because people tend to think that it is the easiest way to make money [6]. Rodolfo believed that the only way to be successful was to be a doctor, which is why he strived to become who he wanted to be.
The medical field has the most demanded careers everywhere. Rodolfo was a doctor back in the Philippines; However, when he moved to the United States of America, he decided to just be a nurse. Rodolfo Hebron left the Philippines, his home country, in order to work overseas and provide for his family and give them a stable life. Being a doctor in the Philippines does not compare to having a job abroad. Even though he was living a perfect life in the place where he was born, he wanted to strive for more. As Rodolfo stated in the interview “I like [the job] but I’m still aiming for something higher” [4]. As an immigrant in the United States, he experienced various hardships that intervened his goal of giving his family a perfect life. Due to the lack of relatives and friends in an unknown country, Rodolfo had to work twice as hard to have a secure job. His goal of contributing to his family was moderately tough, however, that did not stop him from giving up since he was close to completing his goal. The English language was still foreign to Rodolfo, the cultural diversities and beliefs took a long time for him to get used to all differences. However, after living in America for more than a decade, he has perfected all these requirements and was able to overcome each and every obstacle that came to him.
Rodolfo had to experience numerous difficulties while working in the medical field. Since he studied in a known university in the Philippines, the competition was intense. Getting accepted was the first problem Rodolfo worried about because there are many smart people in Manila compared to Zambales, a province where he grew up in. Everyone wanted to be a nurse or doctor in a small country who is full of people working in the medical field. In addition, since Rodolfo moved away from his city to pursue his dreams, he wasn’t as financially stable as before. The medical course required a huge amount of money for the tuition fee which caused Rodolfo to get internships from small companies and earn enough money to get in the school he wanted. After deciding to move to a different country when he married, Rodolfo had to work for multiple jobs in order to provide for his family. He had to work for three different companies back and forth every day to send money to his wife and children that he left in the Philippines. Rodolfo works for eight to ten hours a day, including weekends. On holidays he rarely has days off due to the lack of people willing to work.
However, the nursing job is not full of disadvantages. While studying medicine, Rodolfo was opened up to choose from various career opportunities and choose one that he wants to pursue. He was exposed to multiple subjects; Biomedicine, Dentistry, Physiotherapy, Pharmacy, Nursing, and Veterinary Medicine [9]. Rodolfo also receives a huge amount of money for his salary. Each patient he takes care of gets him $100,000 and that does not include the extra work he does outside being a nurse. Since Rodolfo has three jobs, nurse, caregiver, director manager, the money he receives is more than enough which is what he receives for working 24/7. Not only does the nursing job give money and opportunities, it also gives out experience. Rodolfo loves his job, not because of the huge pay he gets, but because of the hands on experience he has with his patients.
Every patient is different because of the characteristics they withhold, the same goes for Rodolfo’s patients. Each has their reason as to why they are in need of medical attention and have very unique different personalities. There is an elderly couple that Rodolfo takes care of (names are not allowed because that will invade the patient’s privacy which is against the HIPAA act). It was eleven in the afternoon and Rodolfo was driving back from a family trip when suddenly the wife contacted him. She said that her husband fell from the stairs and was in need of immediate attention. She did not want to call 911 because the couple now has to pay 911 for constantly calling them every time they are in need of help. Rodolfo then hurriedly drove to their house and aided the husband even though he was exhausted from driving all day. He sacrificed himself yet again just to take care of people who are not even related to him. [They] routinely have to make life-and-death decisions for multiple patients at a time, often with little notice or preparation, i.e. a five-minute shift report [1]. He did not complain, in fact, he offered to help them again whenever they are in need. He wanted to make them feel at ease knowing that he was finally there.
Overall, Rodolfo has no regrets as to why he decided to join the medical field. After following his father’s footsteps to pursue his dream, he was motivated to strive for more. He experienced hardships through the journey, however, he was rewarded with multiple rewards after and would not exchange his job for anything.