More than 400 nurses from the resource-deficient health sector assembled at Le Meridien Pegasus hotel yesterday for a chance to work overseas through a US firm, Compass International.

Compass was the second major recruiter here this week after teachers turned up in large numbers on Sunday to garner jobs in New York. The recruiting drives turned the spotlight on the increasingly serious problem that the government faces in keeping teachers and nurses in Guyana and comes in the wake of declarations at two major conferences here recently that attempts will be made to tackle the brain drain.

The nurses, attached to all of the medical institutions in the country, were upbeat about their chances of being considered and expressed dissatisfaction at the conditions they were made to work under in Guyana. From as early as 10 am yesterday, many of them -- some dressed in their uniforms and others in casual clothing -- flocked the room where the recruitment was to be done. Those who turned up were required to write an evaluation examination and attend a lecture, which was conducted by one of the officials of the firm.

The officials held two sessions yesterday from 10 am to 2 pm and from 2 pm to 5 pm. Some of the nurses who had turned up yesterday morning were forced to leave and return later in the day because the test room was crowded.

Stabroek News was told that the examination came as a surprise to many of the nurses who spoke to this newspaper on condition of anonymity. "I thought that we just had to come and apply and then we would have known whether we were considered. But this exam came as a surprise, it wasn't really hard but some of the questions I couldn't answer," one woman said.

However, she felt that even though she hadn't answered all of the questions she had a chance at being selected.

The firm had advertised the recruitment exercise in the local print media recently, calling for registered nurses and promising them exciting opportunities with lucrative contracts of employment at top-class American hospitals. The nurses would be given two-year contracts with the assurance of excellent salaries and benefits, the ads promised. Study classes would also be held for those interested, with highly qualified NCLEX instructors. Free flights and accommodation were promised for all nurses attending the NCLEX examination, sponsorship of US green cards for all those who qualified and their immediate families will also be taken care of. Contracts would be immediately available for all nurses with valid NCLEX licences, the ads said.

A 27-year-old male nurse told Stabroek News yesterday that he had always looked forward for such an opportunity. According to him, ever since he became a staff nurse some three years ago he had been working under extremely harsh conditions at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). He said that his benefits if any were small and insignificant. "What I know [is that] if the government wants us to remain here, they would have to increase the capacity at the Palms Institution, because after retirement we would not have anything to live on." He said that as long as he was considered for the two-year contract he would use the time there to elevate himself and improve his economic status.

A 39-year-old midwife attached to the GPHC lamented the poor remuneration at the institution. The woman, a single parent, pointed out that she had three children and had to provide for all of them on a very meagre salary. She saw the opportunity to work in the USA as a blessing from God. "When everything had seemed hopeless, with the small salary and no father for the children, sometimes I wonder what to do next. One of my friends had encouraged me to pursue a course at the University Of Guyana but I can't afford to work and study at the same time. I am happy for this opportunity and I am just praying to get through," she said.

Many of the nurses who turned up yesterday were young women between the ages of 23 and 30 years old. Some of them had recently graduated from nursing school.

During the afternoon session the gathering was smaller -- about 100 persons turned up. Late yesterday evening officials from the firm were engaged in marking the scripts and those who wrote the examination will know their grades very soon. Today is also another day for recruitment.