Country Roads

AT HOME IN THE COUNTRY Ridge Meadows Hospital's Benito Tuyor is a practising LPN with a wealth of experience gained from his work in the Philippines.

On his infrequent days off, Benito Tuyor likes to cook and sing. These twin pursuits offer a relaxing and creative counterpoint to the often frantic pace of the licensed practical nurse's working life at Ridge Meadows Hospital (RMH) in Maple Ridge.

"I really love music. I play a number of musical instruments, and I used to be in a band," Tuyor notes with a hint of nostalgia, as if he'd rather be on stage in a crowded venue than talking about his life as a nurse. "But now, when I have some free time, I like to sing karaoke," he says with a knowing grin.

Growing up on Catanduanes, an island province located in the Bicol region of Luzon in the Philippines, Tuyor had never imagined himself as a nurse. Indeed, he had never imagined leaving that island idyll. "I had always thought that when I grew up, I would become a journalist. I had a passion for the news – for stories – and there were so many interesting stories to tell about the island and the people living there," he recalls.

Growing up, Tuyor says life was simple and basic. "We were a rough, five-hour ride from anywhere major.  Most of the people were farmers, and there was a local rice mill and bakery."

The bakery was run by Tuyor's aunts, and on many occasions he found himself there – helping out – learning the trade.

It was only when the government of the Philippines initiated what Tuyor described as a "doctors to the barrios" program – recruiting and providing health-care training to young adults from underserved communities – that he began to consider a new career path. "The town councillors selected the students and I was fortunate enough to be chosen," he says. "I received a government scholarship and that was how my nursing journey began."

Tuyor went to school in Lagazpi, the largest city in Bicol. "It was a very big adjustment", he recalls, "but I enjoyed it a lot. There was a laddered curriculum. The first year was care-aide training, the second, midwifery, then two to three years of nursing, and after that pre-med, and so on."

Tuyor had planned on completing the entire program but when the funding dried up, he was obliged to stop. In 2002, after five years of school, he returned home.  "I volunteered in the very deprived district hospital for one year – providing basic nursing care."

In early 2003, Tuyor travelled to Manila to write his licensure exam before returning to Bicol, where he was hired by a private nursing agency to work in one of the regional hospitals – though not as a direct employee. "The agency paid better wages and offered benefits – and my partner and I had a young child, he explains. "This shaped my decision."

In the fall of 2003, Tuyor's wife was sponsored by her sister to come to Canada to work as a caregiver. "It was a good opportunity for us – for our family – and for me to nurse in Canada," Tuyor recalls.

But as it turned out, Tuyor wasn't able to join his wife, and he had to wait five years until she was able to sponsor him. "So, it was me with our children in the Philippines and my wife in Canada." 

Tuyor and the children arrived in Canada in the spring of 2008. "We were excited to be here, together, and I had heard that there were lots of nursing jobs," he says.

The family settled in Pitt Meadows. "It was strange. When I imagined Canada, I had images of Los Angeles and New York in my mind," Tuyor admits.  "But here I was in a place that looked like the one I had left behind – I'd gone from a rural area to a rural area."

Tuyor worked at a warehouse while initiating an application to obtain his RN licence.  "After a year I was hired as a care aide and porter at Ridge Meadows Hospital."

In the meantime, Tuyor's attempt to get his nursing licence had stalled. "I was informed by the regulatory college that I didn't meet the criteria", he explains, noting the assessment was based mainly on a lab simulation test that he feels is not an accurate tool to assess the competency of international nurses.

"I came to Canada as a nurse, not as an actor," he remarks. "In the real world, I would know exactly how to deal with a code blue situation, for example, but a simulation is very far from that reality."

Tuyor then took a practical nurse refresher course in November 2010, and in June of the following year received his LPN license. He continues to work at RMH.

"Even after all these years of practising as an LPN I still feel like an RN inside," he notes with an existential weariness.  "Don't get me wrong, I love to work as an LPN," he says, "but the system could utilize my skills much more effectively, especially during a pandemic."

Despite his long-standing dream of obtaining an RN licence, Tuyor has recently decided to abandon the effort after a more recent experience with the National Nursing Assessment Service (NNAS). 

"I'd already applied to NNAS some years ago, and now they're requiring me to submit the same nursing credentials previously verified by the regulatory college – the same credentials that allowed me to work as LPN for more than 10 years," he stresses, noting that NNAS will simply submit its report back to the college.

Tuyor's lament is a familiar one – and it highlights the frustrations of a process that is both costly and time consuming.

"It doesn't make sense," Tuyor laments. "It's so frustrating that I've given up challenging this RN process, and quite honestly, I'm considering leaving nursing all together." •

UPDATE (Spring 2022)