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Early Philippines
Early beliefs of health and illness in the Philippines were in conjunction with beliefs of mysticism and superstitions. . The cause of a disease was believed to be due to either another person, whom which was an enemy, or a witch or evil spirits. [Filipino]s were careful not to upset other people or the evil spirits for the good of their health. These evil spirits could be driven away by persons with power to banish demons. The individuals who were known to rid of demons were either priests or herb doctors. Filipinos who became sick were usually cared for by the female family members or friends in the home

Spanish Colonial Rule
During Spain’s colonial rule (1521-1898) the Philippine education system offered distinct and unequal opportunities for Filipinos based on gender. An example of this sexism, was allowing only limited numbers of females receive primary education in Spanish charitable institutions. Without an education women were unable to gain much knowledge or power. The knowledge of caring for others came from family members and personal experience with the sick. Nursing other individuals was seen as a task not a job or a profession. During the Spanish regime many specialized hospitals were established to care for Spanish king’s soldiers and civilians. . To many elite Filipinos the Spanish colonial hospitals were places where those who were not so fortunate to have homes, spent their last days until death.

Philippine Revolution
At the time of the Philippine Revolution many women transformed their homes into quarters to nurse Filipino soldiers and revolutionaries. One of these women was Melchora Aquino, also known as the Mother of the Philippine revolution. In her old age of about 80, Aquino was a supporter of the revolution by providing food and shelter to the revolutionists. In addition she provided care for those who became sick or wounded. However, a few days after the revolution began, Aquino was arrested by the Spaniards for providing care to the rebels. In her strong will to not reveal any information to the Spanish about the location of the rebel leader, Aquino was deported to Guam in the Marianas. After six years of being exiled, the Mother of the Philippine revolution was able to return in 1903, when the Philippines finally gained independence from the Americans. Aquino’s work caring for the ill and the wounded during the revolution has brought comparisons to the American Florence Nightingale. Both these women cared for soldiers during war and paved the way for nursing practice.

American Colonial Rule
Although the Philippines had gained independence from Spain, the United States began to instill their power upon the islands and this broke out in conflict between the Filipinos and the Americans. It was the start of the Philippine-American war. The presence of Americans played a vital role in influencing the development of nursing into a profession. Nurses and missionaries from the United States came to act as nurse mentors for the Filipina women. Nursing education, like teaching and missionary work in the Philippines provided white American women with a sense of purpose in the colony. . This influence then continued with the building of many hospitals where American nurses took charge and Filipina women began to learn under careful eye. An example of this was the development of the Iloilo Mission Hospital. The Iloilo started from a humble beginning. In 1901, through the efforts of Dr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Hall, missionaries of the Presbyterian Foreign Mission Board, a temporary bamboo clinic was erected at Calle Amparo (now Ledesma Street), Iloilo City,; to serve as a venue for the treatment of health care to the very poor. This was made possible because Andrew Hall was a doctor and his wife was a nurse. Like other professions,  nursing in the Philippines evolved from the apprenticeship system. This system laid the foundation upon which the Iloilo Mission Hospital School of Nursing (then Central Philippine College of Nursing and now Central Philippine University College of Nursing) was built. Between the time that this school was built and the time that the Philippines gained their independence from US colonial rule in 1946, the nursing profession continued to grow with the development of more nursing schools and the growth of Filipinas seeking the title of a nurse. . While taking advantage of these learning opportunities Filipinos began to learn more about the United States and the opportunities that the country could hold for them, such as extending their education and increased pay. This began the migration of nurses to the United States. As individuals began travelling to and from United States, the stories they brought home began to spark the interest of others to follow. .

Post Colonial Philippines
After World War II, when Manuel Roxas assumed the presidency of the Republic of the Phillippines on July 4, 1946, it officially marked the end of the colonialism between the United States and the Philippines. Like much of the rest of the world, the Philippine islands were in ruins and Roxas was determined to rebuild his country. He made it clear to his constituents that the new government was still going to rely heavily on US financial support in order to rehabilitate its national economy. Roxas’ first attempts to balance the Philippines budget included collecting unpaid taxes, reducing expenses and promoting foreign trade. Forms of foreign trade would include the exportation of Filipino nurses. Already trained by Americans, Filipino nurses were the perfect candidates to assist the United States and other countries experiencing post World War II shortages. At the time in the Philippines there was also rumor of nursing shortage however it was questioned to be true do to the expanding health programs, inefficient use of nurses’ time and skills and loss of qualified nurses to other countries. By the mid 1960s, Filipino nurses were entering the United States by the thousands. The benefit to the travelling nurses was that they were able to make nearly 20 times as much as they were earning back home. Part of this money would be sent back to their families as remittance and this remittance would in turn assist in boosting the Philippine economy. The negative effects of the high exportation rate, was that the nurses were adding to their own country’s nursing shortage problem. As well the Philippines faced losing one of its greatest sources of social capital, which are educated workers. The negative effects are also seen in the United States as American salaries decrease because Philippine nurses that newly arrive would work the same job at a lower wage.

Today
The Philippines is the leader in exporting nurses to meet the demands of the United States and other developed nations. It has been argued however, that The Philippines’ persistent production of nurses for the global market is a state strategy to develop an export industry for economic development. Things such as immigration services and nursing licensing authorities encourage the production of nurses for export.