{"id":1199,"date":"2024-05-09T18:18:09","date_gmt":"2024-05-09T18:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/features.unityhealth.to\/behind-the-mask\/?p=1199"},"modified":"2024-05-09T19:27:04","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T19:27:04","slug":"dominic-jardeleza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/features.unityhealth.to\/behind-the-mask\/dominic-jardeleza\/","title":{"rendered":"Dominic Jardeleza"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dominic Jardeleza<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

registered nurse<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Back in high school, my grandfather was diagnosed with prostate cancer. We were living in his house in the Philippines, and I was the one taking care of him. He was a really loving father and grandfather, and seeing him suffer and not having the medical background to fully help, it was hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t want to become a nurse at first. I wanted to become a microbiologist. But after that experience, I thought, maybe nursing is the best path for my life. Not only would I be able to help my family members, but I\u2019d be able to make a difference in other people’s lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating college, most of my friends wanted to go to the United States. But for me, it was my dream to be in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was in elementary school, I watched the show Just for Laughs Gags<\/em>. At the end of the show, it says, \u201cFilmed in Quebec City.\u201d I researched the city and thought, \u201cWow, this place is amazing.\u201d And that\u2019s how I decided on Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I didn\u2019t know how difficult the process would be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I worked as an emergency registered nurse (RN) in the Philippines for a long time. I applied for international nursing jobs, but I didn\u2019t have any luck.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Dominic working as an RN in the Philippines.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

One day, I saw a banner that said Montreal, Quebec was looking to accept immigrants. So, with a photo of Quebec City as my laptop background, I applied through an agency and came as a landed immigrant in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the agency made it clear that I wouldn\u2019t be able to work as a nurse at first. I\u2019d have to start out by doing basic jobs, then eventually I\u2019d be able to get back into my field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I got here, I applied to the National Nursing Assessment Service, which determines how transferrable your credentials are as an international nurse. I got my results after six months, and it said that I was equivalent to a registered practical nurse (RPN). So, I moved to Ontario\u2014because I wanted to be in a predominantly English province\u2014and I did the RPN exam here in 2018, which I passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the process didn\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were other credentials and tests I had to do as I waited for my RPN certification, and I also began taking the steps needed toward becoming an RN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the while, I made a living by cleaning houses, cleaning synagogues, packing bags. I was a personal support worker (PSW) and worked full-time as a factory worker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) has very strict guidelines and it\u2019s a very tedious process. Many of my friends in the same situation gave up, and there were times when I wanted to give up. I was so depressed. But I never lost my passion as a nurse and I never stopped dreaming.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Dominic working as an RN in the Philippines.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

When I was a factory worker, I worked for a company that sold doors. As I worked on the doors, I would imagine that instead, I was taking care of my patients. And every day I would say, \u201cThis is just temporary. I will work as an RN again.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April of 2019, while I was with a client working as a PSW, I got an email from the CNO saying that I can finally work as an RPN! I was so happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first job, I worked as an Emerg RPN in Scarborough. Then I started at St. Joe\u2019s in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the time that I started my orientation at St. Joe’s, I felt at home. It\u2019s a friendly environment that really makes new nurses feel welcome. I\u2019ve had offers for other places. I even took the RN exam in New York and considered moving there to become an RN. But in my heart, I just could not leave St. Joe\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, my clinical educator asked me if I heard about the Supervised Practice Experience Partnership (SPEP), a new program that addresses shortages by helping internationally educated nurses become nurses here. I enrolled, and after three months, I could officially practice as an RN!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, I have the opportunity to train nurses. I get to impart not only the skills, but also the attitude. I get to help them embrace their calling as nurses, and teach them that you\u2019re working for a cause, not an applause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of applause, I have a funny story from when I first came to Quebec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was in a garden in Frontenac. The garden was just so beautiful there, and I was just doing my thing. I didn\u2019t even pick a flower, when a police officer\u2014whose face looked familiar\u2014came up to me and told me I was doing something illegal. I almost cried because I was so worried. When he saw that I was almost in tears, he said, \u201cCalm down. It\u2019s Just for Laughs!\u201d <\/em>Everyone around me started laughing and clapping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t believe it. I think it\u2019s the law of attraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I think about that, and when look back at all the frustrations and depression and hardships, I\u2019m just so grateful. I\u2019m living in a dream. I\u2019m really proud to say I\u2019m a Canadian nurse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dominic is a registered nurse at St. Joseph\u2019s Health Centre.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As told to Kaitlin Jingco. Photos by Eduardo Lima. This interview has been edited and condensed.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dominic Jardeleza registered nurse Back in high school, my grandfather was diagnosed with prostate cancer. We were living in his house in the Philippines, and I was the one taking care of him. He was a really loving father and grandfather, and seeing him suffer and not having the medical background to fully help, it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1202,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/features.unityhealth.to\/behind-the-mask\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/features.unityhealth.to\/behind-the-mask\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/features.unityhealth.to\/behind-the-mask\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/features.unityhealth.to\/behind-the-mask\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/features.unityhealth.to\/behind-the-mask\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1199"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/features.unityhealth.to\/behind-the-mask\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1208,"href":"https:\/\/features.unityhealth.to\/behind-the-mask\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1199\/revisions\/1208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/features.unityhealth.to\/behind-the-mask\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/features.unityhealth.to\/behind-the-mask\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/features.unityhealth.to\/behind-the-mask\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/features.unityhealth.to\/behind-the-mask\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}