Saudi-bound Nurses thru SRO

Anyone here who applied in SRO(Saudi Recruitment Office)?

Care to share your experience with them...

-maxene18

Hi, maxene18. Welcome to the forum : )

I'm sure someone will reply to your thread soon.

Anyone here who applied in SRO(Saudi Recruitment Office)?

Care to share your experience with them...

-maxene18

Glad to have you with us.

The Saudi Recruitment Office is located somewhere in Makati. 21st floor Banco de Oro Building. This Office is actually under the management of Saudi Embassy, responsible in recruting nurses for Government Hospitals throughout the Kingdom. They work hand in hand with our POEA.

The SRO is getting nurses in the Philippines, to be directly hired by the MOH (Ministry of Health) and MOI (Ministry of Interior) of Saudi Arabia. They also have some existing programs like HOP (Health Operation Program), a sub- contract of MOH and MOI.

MOH/MOI delegates usually visits the country twice a year for a massive recruitment or even thrice depending on the Government's need for nurses.You can call SRO to inquire what months delegates are coming if you wish to be a walk-in applicant.You can also apply in advance through a drop box in several POEA branches. Usually delegates are coming every April-May, and October of the year. If you apply through a POEA drop box, expect for a call/text message from the POEA officer once delegates are coming informing you to be in SRO at a specific date for the application process. An exam to test your nursing Knowledge, and skills will be administered to applicants as a first step. Then if it is a passing score, you then have to face the delegate/representative who will do the interview. Usually it's an one on one interview, work-related questions as always.

Working under the Ministry of Health is good. Got plenty of benefits, and salary is way too high as compared to salaries being offered by Private hospitals in the Kingdom. Benefits include free housing, food allowance, transportation allowance, yearly 45 days vacation with r/t tickets from point of hire is provided, and alot more. Added to that, the contract is yearly and is renewable.

Getting hired under SRO doesn't involve much money. No placement fees. You just have to shoulder your medical exam fee, authentication of documents expenses,POEA processing fees, OWWA fee, and of course your passport. Nothing more I could remember.

Now, along with this WOW benefits is the little bad fact that once hired by MOH, it is the discretion of MOH/MOI to assign your area of deployment. Usually they will place nurses in far flung areas, or in isolated areas of the kingdom where nursing shortage is more pronounced. But why not give a try, wherever you will be assigned, take it as a challenge, and once you are under MOH/MOI, rests assure that you are properly being taken care of. You also have to adapt with the Saudi Culture, quite easy for filipinos, not even a problem for us.

My first Saudi work experience was with MOH through SRO, and so far, SRO seems efficient.That was four years ago, no idea how it is now. I spent 3 long years in the Southern part of the Kingdom. The experience was quite good. Worked with King Fhad Central Hospital, a tertiary referral hospital managed by the MOH.

Opportunities to grow professionally is really possible with MOH. In my first few months, worked as an E.R nurse, then became an ICU nurse. On my last and third year under MOH, I became a nursing coordinator for nursing quality assurance. Once they knew you are doing good, and you have passed foreign exams like cgfns, ielts,nclex, the more they will respect you, and will give you a position you even didn't imagine of having.

I've been joining the delegates at SRO as well in recruiting nurses twice in the past, been in Indonesia too. And so far, according to my fellow recruitment delegates at that time, filipino remains to be the best nurses for them. We remain to be the apple of their eyes.

I hope I did help you MAXENE18. Should you have further questions, never hesitate to post it here.

Godbless you. Goodluck and Happy Holidays

hi! been introduced to this site and like most of you, I am someone who waits for that long-awaiting for US visa. Saudi is good and might be a real challenge thus I would like to ask for anybody's opinion since you are all good in giving advices based on your knowlege of this. My PD is on last part of the first quarter of 2006. I am interested in applying to saudi and is really thinking about this. Would you guys think that i should continue my applicatio to saudi knowing that my PD is April,2006?

Thank you so much for your kind and very honest answer.

hi! been introduced to this site and like most of you, I am someone who waits for that long-awaiting for US visa. Saudi is good and might be a real challenge thus I would like to ask for anybody's opinion since you are all good in giving advices based on your knowlege of this. My PD is on last part of the first quarter of 2006. I am interested in applying to saudi and is really thinking about this. Would you guys think that i should continue my applicatio to saudi knowing that my PD is April,2006?

Thank you so much for your kind and very honest answer.

-mixup

Hello mixup and welcome to the family.

I would first advice you to seek for permission from the agency you are with for US. If the agency permits you to work here in the mean time, then GO FOR IT.

The fastest place to go for a nursing job is SAUDI, and also it's the fastest/quickest way out.

I have a PD of August 2005, and I am here. My friends are with PDs of early to late 2006,and they are also here. With retrogression on, we just can't wait and be in our home country, earning small amount, or worse, just volunteering all this time. Just can't be more so if your family also depends on you financially.

I hope was able to shed some good advice.

Goodluck and Mrry Christmas

thanks for that nursesidol, but are they going for a contract to be signed like a year or two)? what if suddenly the US sched is here, would the agency you are referring won't block me from going (if there's a contract)?

thank you

@nurseidol

thanks for your response. it's informative. nice to know that you had a good experience with them.

unfortunately, i wasnt that lucky. i applied last march in their office but up till now i'm still here in the philippines.im done with all the necessary procedure.from the medical to the final evaluation. sad to say, the job order for our batch is cancelled. what pisses me off is that they had another delegation last august and most of the applicants from that batch already left the country. not that i dont like them(august applicants) to leave but i just want the SRO to prioritize our batch. our medical is already expired. not only that the troubles that we have to went through just to followup with our application. ohhh im so pissed with them. honestly, i'm feel down because i thought i'm going to leave before the year ends. but it seems that its not gonna happen. tsk tsk

@nurseidol

thanks for your response. it's informative. nice to know that you had a good experience with them.

unfortunately, i wasnt that lucky. i applied last march in their office but up till now i'm still here in the philippines.im done with all the necessary procedure.from the medical to the final evaluation. sad to say, the job order for our batch is cancelled. what pisses me off is that they had another delegation last august and most of the applicants from that batch already left the country. not that i dont like them(august applicants) to leave but i just want the SRO to prioritize our batch. our medical is already expired. not only that the troubles that we have to went through just to followup with our application. ohhh im so pissed with them. honestly, i'm feel down because i thought i'm going to leave before the year ends. but it seems that its not gonna happen. tsk tsk

-maxene18

Sorry to hear that.

SRO was never like that before. If my memory serves me right, It only took me exactly 30 days from the time I applied at SRO, to the time I stepped KSA.

Infairness to SRO, sometimes they are left helpless, and they need to follow the order from the ministry.

SRO can certainly help you acquire a new job offer. But they cannot prioritize you just because you were interviewed earlier than the August batch of applicants. Job offers are always non-transferable, and once it will be cancelled, SRO couldn't just take the job offer of another applicant to accomodate you. All they can do is to search for vacant slots if there's still any.

Good thing that some nurses from the August batch of delegation were already able to depart. Perhaps the August delegates came from regions/parts of KSA where there is a significant shortage of nurses, that is why nurses they recruited were given the priority to come first.

But in any angle, it's so much unfair. But this is how the MOH works.No such thing as first come first serve rule.

Anyway, I wish you all the BEST. I am sure God will make great thing possible for you.

Godbless you more

exectly one month if you are qualified?? wow! that is so fast! you said that employers come during summer. i may try it. do they respond to emails if ever i will email my resume to them first because my location is far from makati. thanks again

exectly one month if you are qualified?? wow! that is so fast! you said that employers come during summer. i may try it. do they respond to emails if ever i will email my resume to them first because my location is far from makati. thanks again

-mixup

Yes. One month waiting game. Quite fast at that time (4 years back). But with what Maxene is telling us now, most probably the timeframe has already changed.

I personally do not advise you to send your resume through email if there's a way that you could. Sending resume online is quite informal in my humble opinion. And considering the thousands of applicant's file that there are receiving each they, I doubt if they could still pay attention with your email.

I guess there's also no such thing as submission of resume through email with SRO. never heard about it. But might as well check out on this.

Goodluck and Godbless you

Happy Holidays

hi nurseidol.thank you for very informative responses.. does sro entertain walk-in applicants? or we really have to submit resume and docs thru poea? pls enlighten.

hi nurseidol.thank you for very informative responses.. does sro entertain walk-in applicants? or we really have to submit resume and docs thru poea? pls enlighten.

-redwine

Hi Redwine.

The SRO allows walk-in applicants way back 2004. I cannot tell you with absolute certainty if they still allow it now. As you know, things are drastically changing over time.

But just my humble opinion, If you plan to apply, you might as well drop/submit your application in any POEA branches. This is exactly the proper way of getting in touch with the SRO. While the walk-in application idea is good, there's no FULL guarantee that you will be fully entertained by SRO as you did not went through the proper process, and that is SUBMITING THE APPLICATION THROUGH POEA. Well, unless if you know someone who's working there who can count you IN for the selection phase. But again, there's no guarantee. Applicants who went through the process, who submitted their application at the POEA will be of top priority.

However, in cases where delegation is aiming to recruit a large number of nurses, I mean, more than the number of applicants who went through POEA, then walk-in applicants are so much welcome, just like what took place during my time.

I am hoping that you will be able to get through in which ever ways you prefer.

God Bless and Merry Christmas

--nurseidol,

again my deepest thanks.. my pd is dec 2006 and due to current retro i want to give mid east a try. by the way, where are you connected right now?

i'm new in this forum and i do find it friendly and very informative..

God bless you more.. Happy holidays!!!

--nurseidol,

again my deepest thanks.. my pd is dec 2006 and due to current retro i want to give mid east a try. by the way, where are you connected right now?

i'm new in this forum and i do find it friendly and very informative..

God bless you more.. Happy holidays!!!

-redwine

You are very much welcome.

I agree, this site has been so helpful, not only with you guys, but also for me. Big Bang thanks to Tcell for the very innovative idea of making this forum come into existence. A Heaven SENT for all of us.

I've been under MOH for 3 years. Was working with King Fahad Central Hospital in the Southern part of KSA. Then for some good reasons, I resigned and find my way out of MOH. Not because I am not satisifed with my job, but it's because as nurse professionals, we ought to grow and excel somewhere else. Man by nature always aims for something better, if not best. After awhile, here I am, still in the Kingdom, but now I found myself working with a Military Hospital. Not best, but better than where I was before in terms of professional growth.

Yes Redwine, you could always give yourself a try. Goodluck and God Bless you.

Merry X-Mas