GNIE: Kiasu-ism in action

I wrote previously about the other GNIE sub-group who made a complaint against our teacher H. As mentioned previously, one alleged motive behind the complaint was that the group launching the complaint "preferred lecturer L because they think/feel that they will score better marks under L."

Anyway, the results of our first theory test are out. Lecturer H wrote out the scores (without the corresponding names) on the board. Thus, we know that everyone in the class of 35 passed, most students scored within the band of 83% to 93%, and the top person scored 97.6%. By any account, those would be fabulous grades for a class.

Yet, somehow it seems to me that unlike in the previous semester where my sub-group often had a celebratory feel when such test results are out, this combined class seemed "distracted" over the results. That is, they didn't seem to be elated. I suspect that I was watching kiasu-ism in action. That is, I guess that for some folks, it is not enough that they reach their Ace goal posts, it is also important that they are head-and-shoulders above their peers.

A profile of my sub-group: 2 Koreans, 3 North Indians, 4 South Indians, 7 Filipinos, 1 PRC Chinese trained in Singapore, and 1 Singaporean (yours truly).

A profile of the other sub-group: 1 Indian, 1 Thai, 4 Iranians, and the remaining 11 Filipinos (of which 2 are ethnic Chinese Filipinos).

It has been known since last semester that students in the other sub-group were observed to be more competitive in general than students in my sub-group. Students in my sub-group, despite minor disagreements with each other, are generally willing to share information and contribute to group discussions. [Note: The exceptions are a couple of students who "only take but never give in return". See below for example.]

While kiasu-ism is often associated with the Singaporean psyche, based on feedback from my classmates, I am somewhat the antithesis of that Singaporean psyche. E.g. One classmate KS remarked on Monday that when she looked into her email of GNIE notes and tips, most of them came from me and she thanked me for them. Instead, it is a couple* of my sub-group classmates (AmP and AmJ) of a certain ethnic group (I shall not say which one) who embody kiasu-ism to a T. That said, KS who of the same ethnic group as AmP and AmJ, is definitely not kiasu.

*E.g. These folks wilfully skipped the weekly 3-hour Sociology class and, on the day before a Sociology test, demanded to photocopy the handwritten notes from a kind-hearted, top-scoring, and hardworking classmate (note: that's not me). See the next section below for more.

In short, while social and cultural generalizations are quick-shortcut filters, never assume who one is dealing with based on such generalizations alone.

p.s. My theory test results fall into the modal band. I am very happy about it. I was too tired to study so I decided to sleep instead, and rely on my past knowledge and recent information gleaned from the previous day's jeopardy game revision conducted by lecturer H. Last but not least, I am very happy that everyone passed the test as well, as many of my classmates are adjusting to lecturer H's more discussion-based and self-directed approach to learning.

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Last Thursday evening while waiting for the lab class to start, AmP just stood opposite me and stared for a very long time at my Sociology notes while I was typing in the information from my notes into my laptop. Finally she said, "This is your notes? I didn't come for class last week." and gave me a "give-it-to-me" look. Yup, AmP does not even bother say "please" or "thank you" when asking a favour. For someone who is amongst the top-scorers herself, who wilfully skipped Sociology class (we know that she doesn't work and her in-laws help with her childcare), who figuratively and literally looked down her nose on those whom she considered weaker students, I don't buy it that AmP "needed help". Thus, I just acted blur and pretended not to understand that obnoxious person's implicit request.

FYI: Unlike my ADD behaviour in nursing-related classes, somehow I am rather interested in the topics discussed in Sociology and was an active participant in class - raising questions, answering questions, and offering different perspectives. As the lecturer briefed us and answered questions, I would scribble down as much notes as I can. It became known that I seem to know quite a bit about Sociology from the Canadian perspective.

As a result of my pretending to not understand AmP's implicit request, she turned over to my kind-hearted, top-scoring, and hardworking classmate IT - who was studying his notes at that time - and asked, "Can I photocopy your notes?" He passed the notes to her and she went off to make copies.

After school last Thursday, AmP and her good friend AmJ came over to me. AmJ asked me for help because she couldn't think of a research topic for her Sociology assignment. At least, AmJ was polite and asked with a "please" and "thank you". So I gave her a topic that I had thought of and which no one else had laid claim to. Yup, as usual, I generated more ideas (topics) than I could use, so I had given away 3 other topics before giving the 4th to AmJ. Then came the shocker. AmJ asked, "Can you give me the references as well?" I gave a surprised look, took a beat, donned a quizzical face and then told her firmly, "I can show you where to find references in the library, but you will have to do the research yourself."

[Actually, I was thinking inside my head, "While we're at it, I might as well write your assignment, get your grades and graduate on your behalf!" The gall of some people!]

After school on Thursday, I emailed my entire sub-group (including AmP and AmJ) the keywords that my Sociology lecturer wrote on the board over the past few weeks which he said we must know. Later that night, I emailed via bcc to everyone in the class (except for AmP, AmJ and another of their "take but don't give in-return" friend) my entire set of handwritten Sociology notes after scanning them into my computer. I felt that my sub-group might like to have my notes because I noticed that many of them had difficulty catching up with the pace of discussion during Sociology class. Indeed, many thanked me the next day for the notes.

Over the weekend, I told my classmate AP about my act of excluding AmP and gang from my handwritten notes. AP cheered me on, saying that I have been too nice too them. Today, I decided that I will only share my notes with those who "give-and-take" and who at least attend class. For the kiasu few, I am going to swallow my previous semester's declaration that, "We must help everyone pass"; and replace it with "You die, your business."

Facebook: PRCs, being Chinese and ethnic enclaves

I am not particularly proud of being an ethnic Chinese living in Richmond (known to be an ethnic Chinese enclave in Metro Vancouver) over the last week. It ended with me posting the following comment on my FB wall on yesterday.

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WD: Seriously thinking about moving out of Richmond, relocating to Maple Ridge when I am ready.
Push factor: Sick of people screaming bloody "discrimination" at every possible opportunity, instead of reviewing their own SWOT.
Pull factor: Lots of green land, underdeveloped, small suburban community.

[There were several FB "Likes" and comments from friends who are local Canadians as well as Singaporeans who immigrated to Canada in recent years. In particular, my FB "conversation" with RW is rather revealing of the Singaporean attitude to migration, PRCs and discrimination in Canada. Just to set the background: RW is a fellow Singaporean who was in a highly-paid, highly-respected, professional-specialist job in Singapore. After landing in Canada, he took on a blue-collar job initially. See an extract of our FB "conversation" below.]

RW: Ever considered moving to Alberta?

WD: ‎@ RW: I like B.C. It has a history of being liberal (says my Sociology lecturer). I will try other locations in B.C. first before considering other Canadian provinces. Alberta is socially and politically conservative (relative to B.C.), something that I don't care for.

RW: Actually what I meant to say was have you considered moving to Edmonton. As with many things there are generalizations. I personally don't feel Edmonton is socially conservative. In the recent provincial elections there was big uproar about the Wild Rose Candidate who condemned gays. The premier is giving a speech this Saturday at the gay pride parade. Have you visited Edmonton? I think perhaps Vancouver attracts a large number of immigrants who might exploit the social liberalism. I personally have not come across people screaming "discrimination" at every possible opportunity in Alberta.

RW: Edmonton's electorate seems to be different from the ones in Calgary and Southern Alberta. It's a relatively liberal/moderate here. Which is why the NDP captured a couple more seats.

RW: Just curious but is the reason why there are "people screaming bloody "discrimination" at every possible opportunity, instead of reviewing their own SWOT." a result of BC being pro-liberal? What do the people get when they scream "discrimination"?

WD: @ RW : Thanks for the information re: Edmonton. I will keep that in mind. 

Super long-winded reply to follow. I will break it up into several comments.

WD: Regarding why people scream bloody discrimination, I don't know for sure -- I don't know the culprits personally and/or I don't know them well enough. Perhaps I am overreacting. 

I attended the CBC live radio talk on ethnic enclaves last Wed. Richmond is infamous for >50% Chinese residents, with an alleged reputation of folks who make no effort at inter-mingling beyond their own countrymen. 

That is followed by a public screening of "From C to C: Chinese Canadian Stories of Migration" documentary at Richmond last Saturday. Just yesterday, I got around to put the following feedback on the Facebook event page of the "From C to C" public screening .

> "Actually I was disappointed by the 2 ethnic Chinese panelist harping on-and-on about current discrimination (against ethnic Chinese) instead of focusing on how new immigrants can seek to overcome cultural barriers and contribute to the Canadian society. IMHO, playing the victim card will not help new immigrants assimilate."

WD: Yup, the 2 ethnic Chinese panelist were billed as "two other community experts". They are both accountants (presumably successful in their careers). One represented S.U.C.C.E.S.S. B.C. and the other an ethnic community support group. One originated from Taiwan and the other from Malaysia, both landed in Canada around 20+ years ago. 

IMHO, it is ironic that such successful immigrants instead of advising new immigrants (many from PRC) how to overcome barriers and achieve success, iterate on-and-on about current anti-Chinese discrimination (yes, specifically "anti-Chinese"). I wonder how these folks ended up with professional careers if the discrimination is as bad as they claim. Each of them cited 1 PRC immigrant (presumably different persons) who was discriminated against.

WD: One PRC example cited could not get his credentials recognized in Canada. While I don't know enough case-specific details to draw case-specific conclusions, I do know about some general trends. The "Canadian experience" requirement is a Canadian-wide phenomenon. These so-called community experts should have checked with other non-Chinese immigrants (especially "white" immigrants) if they faced the same issues. I can tell you that I know even "white" immigrants from European countries face the "Canadian experience" issue. And there have been news reports that even Canadians returning from overseas careers face the same "Canadian experience" issue. Instead, that "community expert" chose to frame it as a "specifically anti-Chinese discrimination" incident, by simply citing that a "white" person was hired instead of the PRC applicant.

Another PRC (Shanghai-nese) example cited had to accept an accounting position 2-rungs lower from his Shanghai position even though both jobs (in Shanghai and Canada) were with the same big name international accounting firm. I was thinking "Is the "community expert" being devious? Yes, the systems in the accounting firm may be standardized but, given his accounting background, surely he knows that there are significant differences in accounting laws from one country to another?" IMHO, 2 rungs below is no big deal if one is truly talented, because a talented person can/will overcome and be promoted eventually. Otherwise, how did the 2 community experts ended up with their professional careers? As the Chinese saying goes, "真金不怕火炼 ["Real gold is not afraid of being moulded by fire."]. Do these folks seriously expect to come into Canada and not have to adjust at all?

WD: Sad to say, given the above-cited examples, I went away from the post-documentary panel talk with a negative impression of the newly arrived “complaint-king” professional PRCs (which is opposite of my impression formed from some PRC migrants who are my friends in Canada and in Singapore). Frankly, even if these complaint kings moved from one Chinese major city to another, they would have to make adjustments, so why kick such a big fuss over the adjustments they have to make in an even bigger move to Canada? When the "community experts" cited that the main aim of migration for these PRCs was to create a better life for themselves and their family, especially their children, I am left wondering:

1. So they want to improve their lot and their children’s future but are not willing to put in the sacrifice?

2. Are these PRC immigrants pampered folks resulting from China's single child policy? That is, do they expect the world to revolve around them?

3. Or are they dumb enough not to do their own SWOT before taking the big step of emigration?

4. Or are they playing the victim card to leverage off the suffering of earlier historic Chinese migrants who are in no-way related to them?

RW: PRC who go to Singapore of course don't complain lah! They are valued MORE than local Singaporeans mah! And also Singapore full of chinese, they feel right at home. Perhaps one reason why you have that kind of people in Vancouver is because there are simply too many chinese in Vancouver. They think they are at home you see? I still think that having too many asians in the city will simply turn the place into another Singapore. Who knows 20 years from now, Vancouver will be just like Singapore.

WD: Lastly, when the community expert with the ethnic community support group cited that he repeatedly requested that Richmond board be more diverse, emphasizing the need to promote more ethnic Chinese into the board, I began to have serious doubts about his true intentions.

As far as I am concerned, I don't care about the ethnicity of the people running my town, province, and country. I only want the best people willing and able to hold the office, to serve the people, and to uphold Canadian values. I don't want an ethnic Chinese on the board just because he/she is Chinese if he/she is not the most willing and most capable candidate, not even for "diversity" sake. IMHO, using "diversity" as an excuse to displace a more suitable "visible majority" candidate with an inferior "visible minority" candidate in a position is a form of reverse-discrimination. History has shown that such "affirmative actions" will backfire in the long-run (e.g. Malaysia's "Bumiputra" policy).

I am generalizing here, but I think this is where Singaporeans stand out. We share the same value with Canadians -- recognizing ability and contribution regardless of race, language or religion.

RW: Yes, Singaporeans come from a multi-ethnic, multi-religion, multi-racial country. When my homestay student from Shandong China came to Edmonton, he said it was the first time he had seen any person with dark skin (eg africans, indians) in real life. In China, there are very few foreigners compared to the number of chinese. They are not accustomed to integrating. Remember that historically China closed her borders to the world. I do not think that it is the Chinese culture to accomodate outsiders.

WD: ‎@RW: "Perhaps one reason why you have that kind of people in Vancouver is because there are simply too many chinese in Vancouver. They think they are at home you see? "

You're right. I learned a sociology term for it recently. It's called "institutional completeness". My sociological lecturer thinks of it as mainly positive, but I think the cons of institutional completeness cannot be ignored. Otherwise Canadians in Metro Vancouver will have the same shit hitting them in the face, similar to what Singaporeans experienced from our open immigration floodgate. Already, I have seen a job advertisement for movers requiring the applicants to speak "Cantonese or Mandarin Chinese" -- I wonder at which point Canadians will feel squeezed out of the job market by the newcomers.

[Click here for an example of nationalistic discrimination favouring a specific foreign nationality in the Singapore job market. This runs against the Singaporean value of non-discrimination. Yet, such an incident no longer surprises the middle-class and working-class Singaporeans as such practice is rampant amongst recruiters of foreign origin who themselves gained a foothold in Singapore thanks to our non-discriminatory value, but who never assimilated, nor adopted such Singaporean values.]

RW: They already feel it in Vancouver. It is well known that the cause of high property prices in Vancouver is the influx of excessive number of PRC Chinese. As I had mentioned, the immigrants who move to Vancouver and Toronto are Liberal and NDP party supporters. Whereas the ones who moved to Alberta are Progressive Conservative Party supporters. It seems pretty clear that the type of immigrant who moves to Alberta is different from the one that moves to Vancouver and Toronto. Progressive Conservatives stand for social progressive and economic conservative ideas. I never moved to Alberta because of the politics, but I am glad I did because I think the social culture here in Edmonton suits me very well. I am economic conservative but socially progressive too. At my work I am the only non-white but I feel no discrimination at all. And neither am I looking to find anything either.

RW: Sometimes this "siege" mentality can backfire badly. [Note by WD: Click here and here for examples.] I can almost picture the situation in Vancouver might eventually escalate to that of France and Singapore. You don't want it to be a case where the Chinese protect their own, and form enclaves, hiring their own etc and the locals then have to "fight back". But it seems like it has happened in Richmond. Doesn't bode well in the long term.

WD:  ‎@ RW: I agree. That's why I was particularly appalled by the stance presented by the "community experts" at the post-documentary panel. If the leaders of a community encourage/inculcate such "siege" mentality in newcomers, then it is only a matter of time that a backlash will happen.

RW: WD, Actually there is no reason why we should be surprised by this. We came from Singapore and have seen how these foreigners behave. They call the radio and slam local Singaporeans openly even. Call Singaporeans to "appreciate" their efforts to come and help the country. Why would it be any different when people from the same country go to Canada? One of the reasons I stayed away from Vancouver. I wouldn't even go back there as a tourist to be frank!

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[Addendum on 07-Jun-2012]

JH: A Singapore man who immigrated to Vancouver came back to visit his sick father told me that Canada is the best place to live in the world .It seems not true ?

[Note: JH is one of my PRC friends in Singapore.]

WD:  Hi JH,  It is true. Canada is in many ways better than Singapore if you're a "worker bee", especially in nursing.

What I am complaining about here is the attitude of some immigrants (especially the recent arrivals from PRC and the not-so-recent arrivals who are manipulating these PRCs). Instead of being grateful for the chance of a better life, these immigrants jump at any chance to complain of racial discrimination but fail to examine their own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats and how they can overcome the challenge of migration, adapt and contribute to their host country, Canada.

RW: One still has to work hard and strive to be successful. Perhaps some of these people think that by going to the "best place to live in the world" everything is going to fall at their feet or that it is their "right" to have it easy.

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p.s. Remember AH? [Click here, here and here for blog entries featuring her.] She is one of the PRCs whom I personally know who claims racial discrimination whenever she can. In fact, at one of her previous jobs, she complained to the Assistant Store Director about racial discrimination, just prior to the 1st time she suddenly absconded to China because she couldn't cope with adjusting to life in Metro Vancouver. Oh ya, AH also lives in Richmond.

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For a typical Singaporean perspective to migration and adapting to a host country, click here.
http://www.transitioning.org/2012/05/31/online-interview-on-singaporean-couple-migrating-to-new-zealand/

GNIE: Complaint against teacher

I learned something interesting today.

First a little background about my GNIE cohort. During the 1st semester, my cohort was split into 2 classes and we were trained separately, with the exception of Pharmacology which was a mostly online course with a 1-hour weekly in-class review. Let's call the other class group A and my class group B. During the 2nd semester, the 2 classes are lumped together into a big group of 35 students for the theory courses.

During the 1st semester, Group A had S as their nursing theory lecturer. Group B had G as our nursing theory lecturer. My group had a lot of fun during our nursing theory classes. Our lecturer G was not above teasing us or being teased by us. As I've mentioned before, my semester 1 classmates are fun-loving and generally collaborative. During semester 1, I heard rumours that the other group (Group A) was rather competitive. In fact, I have personally heard remarks from Group A students whining about how much tougher their theory class and tests were, and how unfair that my group (Group B) had "much easier" test questions. [Note: Group A had tests set by lecturer S, and Group B had tests set by lecturer G.]

During the 1st week of semester 2, our nursing lecturer H was unavailable. We were taught by the Course Co-ordinator L. In week 2, lecturer H returned to teach us. Since then, I was often questioned by students from both groups (but especially those from Group A) asking me which lecturer I preferred, L or H. Since I see no point in comparing L with H given that it is just a difference in teaching style, I skirted the issue by replying tangentially, "I prefer G. Our class had so much fun laughing and learning from her."

In fact, I was to learn later that I wasn't the only one being asked the above. From what I gather, some of the Group A students went round asking everyone from both groups about our lecturer preference. During lunch break with my Filipino friends today, I learned that some Group A students have a strong preference for L over H. According to my Filipino friends' sources, this group of students in Group A -- let's call them AXE students for short -- preferred lecturer L because they think/feel that they will score better marks under L.

We are now in week 3. I heard from my Filipino friends that in order to turn their wish for better marks into reality, AXE students lodged a formal complaint to the Course Co-ordinator/Lecturer L (who doubled up as the replacement lecturer for us in week 1) about lecturer H -- that they did not want lecturer H to be teaching the class. AXE students lodge the complaint without first warning or consulting the other half of the class about their intentions, namely students from my group (Group B). Neither did AXE students attempt to discuss with lecturer H about their preference for a different teaching approach before going behind her back to her manager (i.e. Course Co-ordinator L).

Now comes the interesting part. I wrote about the ugly side of group loyalty (here) and self-interest (here) before. From what I understand, AXE students consist mainly of Filipinos from Group A. The reactions from my Filipino friends surprised me (although I didn't show it). IT remarked that AXE students were very short-sighted and did not consider the long-term impact of ruining our cohort's relationship with lecturer H, e.g. she may make it harder for us to pass. IT's remark got DL and JC worried. AP was also unhappy about the matter. LP was furious that AXE students did not consult our Group B before lodging a complaint, and thus implicating us in their dissatisfaction when in fact we didn't have any preference for lecturer L or H. PT seemed appalled but in his usual politically-neutral manner said nothing. [IJ wasn't with us for lunch.]

LP remarked, "They should have consulted us before making the complaint. We would have objected and [going by the Filipino culture] they should not have done it. Now it seems as if we are part of the complaint."

I asked my friends how they found out about the matter. LP told me about some stuff they overheard in Tagalog and the leak from a neutral person in Group A. So I said, "Oh no! We have to clarify that we have no issues with H teaching us."

LP added with conviction, "Yes. They [the university management] will launch an investigation. Then we must show our support for H."

I concurred, "Yes, let's show our support for H!"

At that point, I was actually quite happy to gain a fresh insight into the Filipino culture. It is NOT a "majority wins"* culture. It expects its members to come to a consensus before acting as a group. That's why despite LP and IJ's unhappiness with lecturer G regarding AP's issue (click here and here), they did not lodge any complaint -- simply because I had voiced my disagreement! [In addition, this indicates how they automatically count me as one of their own.]

Later, I remarked to AP my observation of Group A: They complained amongst the students about their 1st semester lecturer S. Now they are complaining officially about the 2nd semester lecturer H. I wonder if the problem is with the Group A students themselves -- i.e. they are a rather hard to please lot.

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[Addendum on 23-Jun-2012]

IMHO, the above complaint has resulted in adverse effects. Click here for more.

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*Note: Singaporeans are trained to accept "majority wins". E.g. If majority of the condominium owners  in an estate voted for re-development, the minority has no recourse to stop the re-development project.

Sun, field, space - freedom and peace

Just wanted to share this beautiful spring day in Metro Vancouver.

The field in B.C. above reminded me of 

Van Gogh's "Wheat Field with Cypress" below

[Source: Wikipedia] 

This field is just behind a bus-stop, with mountains in the background and a highway running across the horizon (barely visible behind the tall grass). This beautiful spring day with the sun, the grass field and a vast expanse of space somehow brings me a sense of freedom and peace. I took a deep breath, soaked in the sun, and thought, "If I had the money to retire, I would probably just sit in the sun, enjoy a picnic, and watch the sky and the world go by." Yeah, I am not ambitious.

Simultaneously a familiar tune automatically ran through my head. It's a chirpy theme song "サボテンの花" [Cactus Flower] from an old Japanese TV series "同一屋簷下" [Under one roof].

I think I'm lucky in that while my memory sucks when it comes to remembering names and faces, it seems to work pretty well when it comes to remembering tunes that I like. As a result, I don't really need music from a MP3 player, except when learning a new song. 

同一屋簷下 II 開場片頭 []
Under One Roof, Season Two, Opening sequence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6XRT5RElE8


p.s. The Cherry Blossoms season is over in Metro Vancouver. The cherry trees are now covered with fresh green leaves. Which brings to mind another aspect that I like about life in Metro Vancouver -- watching the passing of time with each season.

GNIE: When the going gets tough...

I wonder if anyone noticed a tinge of frustration in my previous post on GNIE. If so, you're spot on. Last week was only the 2nd week of the 2nd semester. Yet my classmates and I are feeling the stress of the faster-paced and more demanding workload of the 2nd semester.

The thing is, when the going get tough, many of my classmates start to gripe about "why the need for GNIE" and other associated barriers to entry. E.g. the requirement for and stress of undergoing the SEC (Substantially Equivalent Competency) test, the cost of GNIE, the long duration of GNIE, why other earlier batches of internationally trained RNs were allowed to practice without jumping through these hoops, and how unfair it is that we have to do it now, etc, etc.

Since I hang out with the Filipino group in my class more often, I end up hearing more of their complaints. Over one unfortunate lunch last week, several issues crop up.

LP brought up her anger with our last semester's lecturer again, over an issue which I thought was already water under the bridge. When she started fanning old anger in IJ and AP, and tried to influence the other Filipinos in the group, I openly disagreed with her. LP insisted that our lecturer failed as a teacher when she advised AP to withdraw from the course if AP thought that she wasn't going to make it. LP cited the fact that AP passed eventually, proved that our lecturer was wrong. IJ chipped in that AP indeed would not be "here with us" if she had heeded that piece of "ill-advice" to withdraw from the course last semester, and if she had not sought alternative advice from IJ himself and me. They both hinted that they wanted to lodge a complaint and/or petition against the lecturer. I insisted that our lecturer probably did what she did because of her role/duty as a class teacher. And that if AP needed encouragement, that's what friends are for, it's not the teacher's role [given their duty to be objective and impartial]. When AP -- caught between me and LP in the argument -- wanted to drop the discussion, LP continued to push it. Our rather heated argument ended with LP and IJ going for a smoking break.

IMHO, while AP deserved kudos for the effort that she put in to pass the 1st semester's module, she really needed a lot of hand-holding and editing of her English for the online participation and her assignment. I know, because IJ and I were the ones helping her on those aspects.

A while later, LP and IJ returned from their smoking break. I was talking about workplace bullying in Singapore (see below) and added that I have seen students ganging up to bully teachers before. IJ calmed down a little, but I could tell that the issue is "not resolved" from LP's perspective. She was just holding back out of respect for the help that I've given AP to-date. Frankly, I recognize that LP is not mean at heart. She is extremely loyal to those whom she considers her in-group. I am lucky to be part of that in-group. However, I recognize that given my vastly different background, it is inevitable that we will have differences in opinions.

Another issue that cropped up over lunch that day was the unhappiness of my Filipino classmates that they had to do the GNIE program. They cited that how unfair it is that the rules had changed (i.e. until recent years, international nurses did not need to jump through the SEC and GNIE hoops). In addition, CRNBC has now raised the bar on the English standard required. I recognize that perhaps my classmates were complaining because of their own fears about completing/failing the GNIE course and/or the required English proficiency. So I "baited" them with further questions.

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WD: So why don't you go to countries where you don't need to do GNIE?

DL: But the English requirements in Australia is higher. We cannot meet it.

[Addendum on 01-Jul-2012: Frankly, it isn't just the English requirement that they may not meet. All nurses wishing to work/live long-term or migrate to Australia need to have their skills assessed by the ANMAC (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council). The ANMAC skills assessment consists of both an English test (applicable to all internationally trained nurses) and a Competency test. The Competency test is waived for nurses from United Kingdom, Ireland, United States of America, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands (HBO programs). It makes me wonder, what makes my Filipino classmates think that they can pass the ANMAC Competency test (and therefore score points for immigrating to Australia) if they did not even do well enough on the CRNBC SEC, which is why they are here in the GNIE course. Please when you're a guest in a foreign land, put aside your nationalistic pride (about how good your country's nursing training is) and learn to eat the humble pie. Besides, with the potential changes to the immigration rules, we may even be the lucky last few batches having access to the GNIE training to ease us into the nursing in Canada.]

JC chimed in on similar concerns about the required English standard.

[WD thinking to herself, "F*! It is not like the standard is unrealistically high. Blaming the system instead of improving oneself to meet the standards -- how smart is that for adapting to a foreign country?" But WD kept her cool and continued to ask questions instead, hoping that these questions would cause the group to re-think about their "right" to be an RN in Canada.]

WD: So what about countries that don't need such high English requirements? What about Singapore?

IT: But you need nursing work experience to come into Singapore. Work experience with hospitals of a certain size.

WD: Ya, acute hospitals with at least 300 beds or something like that.

IT: Yes, that experience is hard to get in the Philippines.

[IT and others (including Filipino colleagues in Singapore) ever told me about the bribery system for getting a nursing job in the Philippines. Basically, one has to pay bribes because the supply far outstrip the demand. One has to pay a bribe even for a basic, non-prestigous nursing job in a remote area. To land a job in a large, reputable, acute hospital in the Philippines, the bribe needed is significant. That's why the Filipino nurses that Singapore recruits are not the best, but those with enough money to pay the job agents. That's why classmates like IT and AP have zero nursing experience despite graduating from good nursing schools in the Philippines. That said, I found it ironic that these folks do not recognize that the B.C. Canada system gave them an opportunity to enter the nursing world here without any need for bribery. But I didn't want to rub that into their faces, given my confrontation with LP just moments ago. I decided that given the group's current self-interest and subjective mindset, I had to tackle the issue from their "benefits" perspective.]

WD: But some do. And you know what? Those who did end-up doing the same duties as others (in Singapore) but are paid less just because of their passport.

DL: What? What do you mean?

WD: That's the labour policy in Singapore. We have very little barriers to entry for foreign workers. As a result, there is plenty of supply. With little labour protection, workers are discriminated based on the passport they hold.

DL: What? My friends working in Singapore never told me that.

[So DL never heard the "negatives" from her friends in Singapore, who were probably proudly boasting only of their achievements but not of the problems they face. Yup, I've learned from observing the Filipinos here in Metro Vancouver that in a tight-knitted community such as theirs, sometimes face matters -- a lot. By then, IJ returned from his smoking break.]

WD: Yes, it is true. Can you imagine the problems it cause? The workplace bullying? Imagine, no matter how well you perform, how much better you are, you will still be paid less simply because of your passport. Your pay will only be a fraction of your colleagues', for your whole life.

IJ: So Singaporeans (nurses) are the best paid?

WD: No. Some other countries are the best paid. Then the Singaporeans. Then the China Chinese. Then the Filipinos. Then the Indians. Then the South-East Asians, and the rest.

IJ: Based on your passport?

WD: Yes, condemned for the rest of your work-life based on your passport, no matter how good you are or how well you perform. Your whole life!

[I repeated "whole life" for emphasis. DL, JC and the others had the "Oh!" *gasp* *gasp* expression.]

WD: That's why, I would rather do this (GNIE) course and be treated as equals here.

IJ: But you know, earlier batches of international nurses did not need to do the SEC and can work immediately. That's just a few years ago. And they were from the same (Filipino) nursing colleges as us. It is not fair to us -- why (sic) we have to go through the SEC and the GNIE training.

WD: Well, I prefer to jump through the hoops and be treated as equals. There would be no excuse (for discrimination) because we have met the standards and such discrimination will not happen here.

IJ: When I become an RN, I will infiltrate into CRNBC and join the union to change the policies.

[I thought immediately that perhaps precisely because those earlier batches -- who did not go through the SEC and GNIE -- did not perform well enough on-the-job, that CRNBC copied the SEC approach taken by Alberta, and raised the standard of English required. According to our GNIE lecturers, there were some foreign-trained nurses who were sent to undergo GNIE by their Canadian employers.  

By then, I was tired of trying to open the minds of my Filipino classmates. I figured at that point that I might cause a ruckus (and possibly burn some bridges) if I told them point-blank that perhaps their fellow countrymen had spoilt the market for them due to the earlier batches' underperformance on-the-job. It is something that I had observed in Singapore, foreign nursing staff skiving and under-performing once they got the job because they can count on their fellow countrymen to cover their ass and push the blame to a scapegoat (i.e. workplace bullying). If they insist that that B.C. or Canada should change to suit their subjective whims, then so be it. 

IMHO, given that there are internationally trained nurses who met the English requirements and passed the SEC at 1st go, the barriers to entry are there merely to ensure patient safety. We can only blame ourselves for not being up-to-standard and landing up in the GNIE course. Frankly, I and a couple of South Asian classmates are grateful for the step-by-step re-entry into nursing in Canada.]

WD: Hear, hear! Let's join CRNBC and the union. If you're pushing for changes to XYZ [another topic/issue that we both agree on], I will support you. But if you're advocating to remove the barriers to entry, I will oppose it.

[Later IJ talked about quitting his job over a workplace bullying incident that he experienced that week. I shared with him about the possibility of receiving Employment Insurance if he quit as a result of workplace bullying. He asked for my help with his resignation letter and I agreed. Addendum: Subsequently, the bully was removed from the workplace and IJ's previous employer kept persuading him to return their employment.]

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I am sad after that lunch last week. Sad that based on our discussion, it is apparent that none of my Filipino classmates is at the calibre of my PRC friend who can take push herself to view things from a different perspective. I had thought more of the potential of my younger classmates, e.g. AP, IJ and IT. Perhaps I am wrong. Or perhaps it just takes time, and experiencing issues from the other side, for them to see things from a different perspective. I don't know. I only know that I am hearing these now partly because the going is getting tough...