Ian Rey Osmil, RN
Serves as a registered nurse at Golden Age Nursing Facility in Guthrie and is living his dream by living in the United States.
story and photo by James Coburn, Staff Writer
Ian Rey Osmil, RN, is living his dream by living in the United States where he serves as a registered nurse at Golden Age Nursing Facility, located in Guthrie. He and his wife feel at home after moving to Oklahoma from the Philippines.
“I like it here— it’s so quiet and the people here are so nice,” Osmil said. “That’s what I like about the people here in Guthrie. They are smiling and will try to greet you in the store. You don’t know them, but that’s a good thing about Guthrie.”
July will mark his second anniversary in the US. He and his wife arrived in Guthrie where she’s a nurse at Willow Creek Health Care, also in Guthrie. Osmil has four Filipino friends working in Guthrie at either Golden Age or Willow Creek.
“It’s one of my dreams to come true. I got to work here,” he said.
Moving to America isn’t easy. There’s a lot of interviews, exams and paperwork involved. It takes patience, he said. For most people it takes 10 years to immigrate.
“We were lucky. It was less than five years,” Osmil said.
Osmil earned his Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in the Philippines where he was born and lived before immigrating to the United States. He had worked in emergency medical services prior to becoming a nurse serving in a hospital emergency department. During the COVID pandemic Osmil was an ER nurse in Qatar for four months to bridge the gap of a nursing shortage there.
Osmil worked as a CNA at Golden Age for six months before fulfilling the process of attaining his RN license in the US. Golden Age offers a two-week certified training program through the Oklahoma State Department of Health. To apply for his RN license, Osmil submitted his credentials and background resume from the Philippines and took the NCLEX licensure exam issued by the Oklahoma Board of Nursing.
Osmil said that nursing careers are basically the same in both countries. But there are different brand names of medicine.
He succeeded in becoming more proficient in understanding the English language. Osmil says he has room for improvement, however his speech is easy to follow.
He is not foreign to the diverse complexities of human nature.
“I’m glad I worked here as a CNA. When I came here as a nurse, I was also happy. I’m happy with those residents because they are so nice. I treat them like my grandma and grandpa,” he continued.
The residents and staff encouraged him when he was fulfilling his RN credential in Oklahoma.
Registered nurses have a myriad of career opportunities. However, Golden Age’s environment speaks volumes to Osmil about best practices and reasons to stay there.
“Every day inspires me to take care of them, especially at their age,” he said. Osmil has also learned a lot from the director of nurses and others about how to communicate and care for residents.
Sarah Anderson Wise, CNA, CMA, said, “Being able to take care of them makes me miss my own parents because I lost them. Caring about my residents like I care for my own family is just worth it.”
Osmil tells residents to live their lives at Golden Age the way they want to, as if they were at home.
“Whatever you want, just tell the staff or me if you want something. Don’t be shy, just tell us right away,” he tells residents. “Just feel at home.”
Compassion motivates him from day to day to move forward in his career. He came from a culture where it is ingrained to care for the elderly. At first, he wanted to become a physician. However, he learned that becoming a doctor is a very expensive endeavor. So, he took his mother’s advice and chose nursing.
“I love caring for other people, and not just other people but my family also. I guess that’s one of my strengths,” Osmil said.
He felt grateful when a resident opened up to him. The man cried when recounting his life-long profession. And he thanked Osmil for sitting at his side for more than 30 minutes.
“That’s my first time that I had a resident say thank you, and he hugged me,” Osmil said. “Actually, he did that as my father.”
Being a nurse has an impact on his life. Whenever he visits a hospital, his altruistic nature drives him to want to help others.
“Not just care but try to help,” he said.
And he’s learned that he can achieve his dreams as he did when coming to the United States of America.
For more information about Golden Age Nursing Facility in Guthrie or to join the team, visit https://goldenageguthrie.com.
