To work as a nurse in Singapore: how to calculate the salary and benefits? Is there a senior sister system like Taiwan?

Before going abroad: where to find a job?

Ever since I was a nursing student, I have been constantly told that nursing jobs in the United States and Australia have high salaries and low nurse-to-patient ratios. I secretly think that after I leave the society, I must work hard to pass the English test and change to work in the past. , After I started working in a (Taiwan) hospital, the pressure I faced as a rookie and the exhaustion at work did not allow me to prepare well for the exam after get off work.

Until one day, I saw the 1111 recruiting website posting “Recruitment of Nurses in Singapore” on the Internet. “Singapore”, a country that is both familiar and unfamiliar, never appeared in my future plans. We applied to hearing feeling that we saw recruitment briefing session.

Before the formal interview, there will be a Skype interview to confirm the English proficiency and education qualifications (university, five-tech and two-tech graduates). At that time (2016), it was required to have three years of work experience (I only had half a year at the time), but I was abused by some school sisters in the unit, so I wanted to catch any hope that could take me out of Taiwan (sorry, I believe Not all nursing workplaces in Taiwan are like this, but my experience is too miserable).

interview process

First attach the entire process timeline:

Most of the nurses who came to the interview on that day learned about the recruitment information through 1111 Job Bank and meet.jobs (usually the Taiwan recruitment website entrusted by Singapore). , annual leave and other benefits, I completely missed the briefing session because I rescued patients before work, but I bravely went to work in Singapore (see how much I wanted to leave).

Singapore’s benefits can only be summarized here, and will be discussed in more detail in an article later!

Salary: After all, I am still working in Singapore, so I have signed a contract to not disclose this information, but I will tell you about the private message fan special “Lazy Man Shit Pee BO” !

Position: There are Registered Nurse (but Singapore is used to call it Staff Nurse) and Erolled Nurse. Staff Nurse is dedicated to distributing medicines, communicating between doctors, patients and various departments, writing records, etc. Enrolled Nurse is similar to Taiwanese nurses, helping patients ADL such as bathing, changing diapers, etc., and measuring vital signs.

Nurse-to-patient ratio: I’ve heard that every hospital has a slightly different nurse-to-patient ratio. My hospital sounds the highest (so figured the others might be less). For a B2 level ward, 2 to 3 nurses jointly take care of about 15 patients (one SN+EN+Floater). The Floater here is in charge of SN, helping to distribute medicines, change medicines, etc., so Singapore will say when recruiting The nurse-to-patient ratio is 1:5-6 (I was a little deceived at the time), but in fact, one SN still has to be responsible for the records of 15 patients!

Annual leave: 21 days when you come in (I totally go for that!) but some hospital contracts will be slightly different, basically between 14 and 21 days.

Sick leave: 14 days a year (three days without a doctor’s certificate), 45 days of hospitalization sick leave (including the sick leave on the day of hospitalization or discharge).

Class: Big Flower Class.

Language: Mainly new English, Chinese, Taiwanese (Hokkien), and you can also learn Malay (one of the official languages ​​of Singapore).

Year-end: I hear many different proposals related to the contract. Basically, the hospital will give at least 1 month at the end of the year (HR said this is owed to employees, because 52 weeks a year divided by 4 is 13 months!) plus performance (similar to Taiwan’s A, B, sick etc.) at the end of the year, twice a year (this method will make you think before leaving the job, whether you should get the money before leaving, no wonder I haven’t left yet).

• July: {performance at the end of the year (multiply the ratio according to performance)}× 75%
• December: remaining 25% + 1 month

Salary adjustment: The basic salary will be adjusted proportionally according to the performance every year, or the salary will be adjusted in accordance with government policies.

Additional benefits: round-trip air tickets (provided for two years, but they will give you air tickets when you come to Singapore, and provide return air tickets after two years)

Then, the directors of the nursing departments of two different hospitals and the director of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Singapore interviewed in English. They could not choose a hospital, but could only interview one of the hospitals according to the assignment.

Interview content:

• Self introduction
• Why do you want to work in Singapore? (The author has talked about his previous work experience in Gap Year in New Zealand)
• What is your biggest dilemma at work right now?
• What should you do if your senior tells you to do something that you are not sure about or feel is right?
• Do you have any questions for us?

I actually asked the director of the Nursing Department of the hospital at that time whether the senior-sister system in the workplace in Singapore was serious or not. She said that she couldn’t say that it didn’t exist at all, but it would not be as exaggerated as what I experienced (I was 24 years old in the interview and made a mistake. Serious mistake—complaining about my current job, I advise all younger brothers and sisters not to do this), but I was still admitted, maybe because I was too pitiful?

In the evening, the organizer will notify those who pass the interview to take the written test the next day. At that time, it will be two years before the national exam (basically forgotten). The topic is a bit like the comprehensive version of the national exam (English). If I remember correctly, I only need to get half right (easy). After the exam, the organizer said that they would send the answer sheet to the UK for correction, and they would notify whether they were accepted or not in about two weeks.

Before going abroad: how to apply for a “work visa”?

After the results are released, a Singaporean agent will contact you, and then prepare documents to apply for a work visa and contract. If entrusted by the Singapore government hospital, there is no need to pay for the whole process, you only need to pay for your own application documents and notarization fees!

Compared with other industries, it is more difficult for nurses to apply for work visas. The required documents are complicated, and relevant medical licenses need to be notarized by the court. As the first batch of nurses who passed the group interview, the documents were blocked everywhere. It took a total of one and a half years to apply for a work visa. Luckily, the next generation went smoothly, and it took about half a year to apply (without the epidemic situation).

Let me list the documents I prepared, but I may not remember it very well since it’s been a long time. The more troublesome thing in Taiwan is that both Chinese and English versions need to be attached (maybe they need to compare?), and the content of the requirements may be different now.

• Notarization of birth certificate (Chinese + English translation)
• Notarization of household registration certificate (Chinese + English version)
• Notarization of nurse certificate (Chinese + English translation)
• Certificate of Examination Institute (Chinese + English translation version) notarization
• Notarization of practicing license (Chinese + English translation)
• Graduation certificate (Chinese + English version)
• University transcript (Chinese + English version)
• Hospital Employment Certificate (English version)
• Details of service year gap (English version) If you don’t work immediately after graduation and go to New Zealand like me , you have to write a letter to explain.

The above are many, very complicated, and very annoying. I know, but after applying once, it will be done once and for all. Whether you want to study abroad in the future, apply for permanent resident status, or apply for a nurse license in New Zealand and Australia, you can use it directly!

At one point in the process, I really wanted to give up my application. I didn’t know the nursing environment in Singapore, and I had to go back and forth with the documents. In addition, I had been enslaved to adapt to the nursing career in Taiwan. I almost wanted to stay in Taiwan directly.

At that time, she was encouraged by a school sister who was very experienced, knowledgeable and capable, but was kicked around like a ball in the bureaucratic system. She said, “Go! Nursing the environment, Taiwan will always be your home and your escape route, if you don’t go, you will stand in my current position twenty years later and tell my juniors the same sentence!”

As a result, I have entered the sixth year in Singapore (very unexpected). I have to say that it is a matter of opinion whether I like it or not. I will write more articles to introduce the customs and customs here, but every country has its good and bad. I still love Taiwan deeply, but I can’t love the workplace environment.

after starting work

Singapore has very strict regulations on medical treatment. No matter how many years of work experience you have, the probation period in Singapore is six months! Compared with the one-month probationary period in Taiwanese hospitals, a senior will take you with you in the first two weeks, and take care of a period of patients by yourself in the next two weeks. The rookies are very panicked.

At the beginning, the hospital will provide courses to all new nursing staff. The content is as simple as how to feed the nasogastric tube to place the intravenous needle. For people with work experience, there will be some shocks. Going to a new place and turning yourself into a blank slate is also a kind of learning. After the two-week class, I will return to the ward to work with my colleagues.

At the beginning, I will follow Enrolled Nurse for a month, the purpose is to get used to the daily work of the ward and familiarize myself with the work content of Enrolled Nurse. Even if your position is Staff Nurse, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to do EN work. When there is no manpower, you will be assigned to EN role, or when the ward is too busy, SN has to stop writing records, etc. It doesn’t matter. work, to help EN complete the work.

In short, things in a team are shared among colleagues. Because Singapore hospitals adopt full-time nursing care, family members can only go upstairs to visit patients during visiting hours, and nurses are in charge of patients’ daily life. I will write another article in the future for a more detailed introduction.

After getting familiar with the work content of EN, he will start to work with SN. I have to say that Singapore doesn’t have much system of seniors and sisters. I haven’t felt the medical records, leaving small notes, verbal bullying, etc. I have experienced all the way. I didn’t even leave work overtime during the newcomer period.

Language is a big shock to me. The main language in Singapore is English, but the pronunciation and word usage are a little different from the English we learn. At first, I couldn’t understand when I answered the phone, so I passed it on to the colleague next to me. After six years, I can now speak fluent new English (yes, no one will doubt that I am not the kind of Singaporean).

Is Singapore a place worth leaving home to develop?

Of course, life abroad is not as beautiful as everyone imagines, and it is very difficult to get out of the comfort zone.

I remember a few years ago at Taoyuan Airport, holding a one-way ticket in my hand. After hugging my friend, I turned my head, and what accompanied me were tears that could not stop. In different countries, cultural shocks, English-only working environment, and different eating habits (no bacon omelette for breakfast, no salty crispy chicken for supper), but only in this way can we experience a different life, build a new circle of friends, and feel that we are Really more independent and grown up.

I believe that wanderers in foreign lands often have the same state of mind, especially when they are struggling and facing setbacks alone, without family members or familiar friends around to listen to your complaints and cheer you up. But don’t worry, the biggest advantage of working in Singapore is that it is very close to Taiwan! It only takes four hours to fly, and the air ticket usually only costs four to five thousand yuan. Compared with Taiwanese working in Europe and the United States, going home is really as simple as taking the Guoguang ferry from Taipei to Kaohsiung.

Now, every time I am on the plane, I see the lights of ships on the sea, listen to the broadcast outside at 28 degrees Celsius, and step on the carpet of Changi Airport in Singapore, which already makes me feel like I have returned to my second home.

If you/you want to venture out, but are still hesitating—afraid that you are not qualified enough, that your English is not good enough, that you will not be able to make friends, etc., don’t be afraid, there are Chinese everywhere in Singapore, and maybe more than 80% of the people can speak Chinese. , if you happen to like Nanyang cuisine, or like to travel and enjoy the tropical style on the island, then take this step.

Come out, you will be surprised to find that it is not so far away! If you have any questions, you can leave a message on the fan page to ask!