Filipino nurses and other healthcare workers who wish to work abroad may want to look at Saudi Arabia as a possible destination. This is because the oil-rich country has great demand for foreign nurses and other healthcare professionals. As compared to other favored destination of nurses such as United States of America (USA) and United Kingdom (UK), deployment of foreign nurses in Saudi Arabia is relatively easier and faster.

Government hospitals in Saudi Arabia deploy Filipino nurses and they conduct their recruitment through the Government Placement Branch (GPB) scheme. This is the government to government type of overseas recruitment where government agencies of other countries hire foreign workers and deployment is handled by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Recruitment Office (SRO) is the agency that is exclusively tasked to handle the deployment of foreign medical workers to their government hospitals and other medical institutions. Their office in the Philippines can be found at the 18th floor of BDO Tower along Makati Ave. corner Paseo De Roxas in Makati City.

To send an application to the SRO, one needs to register at the POEA Manpower Registry System. They also have to personally submit required documents at the POEA office in Mandaluyong.

After sending an application to the SRO, the applicant needs to wait for a message from the agency. The message will be for the scheduled examination and interview at the SRO. They usually send an exam and interview notice at least a week before the actual date so applicants would have time to prepare.

On the day of the exam and interview, applicants are advised to observe punctuality.  They should arrive at least 30 minutes before their schedule because they still need to search for the files that they submitted at the POEA registry.

The SRO and POEA do not require specific dress codes. Still as part of being a responsible jobseeker, an applicant should strive to look his or her best. As Arabs are known to be conservative people, applicants should refrain from wearing skimpy clothes and donning heavy make-up. Look decent and professional by wearing simple clothes and women should only wear light make-up.

At the SRO, applicants would first be asked to answer an examination composed of 50 items within one hour. The exam will be checked right away and only those who will get a passing mark will be interviewed. Unsuccessful examinees will be asked to go home.

Successful examinees will go through the interview process which usually lasts for 10 to 15 minutes. The questions are mostly of clinical nature. The result of the interview will also be known right away and those who will pass will be given an appointment letter indicating the salary offer.

They will then present the letter of employment and medical report to the POEA. After which, they will be asked to attend an initial orientation to know the requirements that they need to submit. Applicants will only be given a month to comply with all the requirements prior to deployment.