Grateful for the Opportunities to Treat Patients and Inspire Others - Noel, Gelo

Last year, facility supervisors submitted nominations on why their PassportUSA healthcare professional should be 2020's PassportUSA Employee of the Month. Their nominations shared the healthcare professionals' dedication to their roles and our company.After voting from all of the eligible 2020 PassportUSA Employees of the Month, we are hereby honored to announce that the winner of 2020’s PassportUSA Nurse Employee of the Year contest is Noel!Congratulations to Noel, as he will enjoy a spotlight on both our Facebook and website! He will also receive the winner’s certificate for the year, bragging rights, and an electronic gift of his choice!Noel began his journey with Health Carousel back in 2018. He continues to work hard and keep his trust in our company. His ability to be patient, compassionate and his amazing teamwork has helped him win the title of PassportUSA's 2020 Nurse of the Year!

"Noel is an exceptional nurse. He provides quality care to his patients. If he sees a coworker who seems overwhelmed or is struggling to keep up with tasks, he will ask if he can help. He supports his team during difficult times. When he recognizes a problem, he takes the time to solve it. He is an active participant in all team meetings. He maintains a positive outlook even during some difficult staffing issues. Noel is dedicated to meeting high standards of professionalism. He has obtained certifications that the job does not require and he is proud of the work he has done. This is certainly above and beyond the call of duty.

Noel is also hardworking and diligent. He has a great sense of humor and his patients absolutely love him. He easily adapts to new situations and he has the ability to aspire others to remain calm and he exemplifies professionalism in all of his dealings. I am more than pleased with his work ethic, positivity, his exceptional patient care, his professionalism and his winning personality. He definitely deserves this award without a doubt!" -Nurse Manager

Noel, it is an honor having you as a part of the PassportUSA family. Congratulations again, and to a job well done!We asked Noel about his career achievements and this is what he said:What professional accomplishment are you most proud of from the past year? "Aside from being at work every day at my assigned facility, I am most proud of my professional accomplishments last year such as maintaining and having myself certified in various certifications like Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN), Progressive Care Certified Nurse (PCCN), Certified Medical Surgical Registered Nurse (CMSRN) and Cardiovascular Registered (CV-RN). Given that there’s a global pandemic, I kept myself productive outside of work by taking certifications and honing my talents and skills as a nurse through these accreditations. I am also proud that I won the PassportUSA July 2020 Employee of the Month contest. I gained confidence after winning because I received positive feedback and commendations from my co-staff and those unfamiliar people who’ve seen the post from the PassportUSA Facebook page. It was such an amazing moment of my life and during my career with PassportUSA."What is your biggest motivation for being a healthcare professional and why? "Motivation, per se, is a big word for me and I believe I have been motivating myself every day to keep me going. As a healthcare professional, I know I play a huge role in our society nowadays, especially with the presence of COVID-19, and to be honest, it’s not easy to put myself out there and be of service. However, my patients are my biggest motivation. I see hope in every smile I receive from them. I’m happy when they’re happy with the way I care for them and that really matters to me. I think it’s innate in me because each day that I come to work, in my head, I always think that I must do well in providing the best healthcare for my patients. That always comes easy for me because I believe that there’s no pressure in doing good if your intentions are pure and genuine. With my satisfied patients and with the love I receive from the people around me, I am motivated."If you could have any superpower what would it be and why? "Since I work in the healthcare industry and from personally surviving COVID-19, as cliché as this may sound, I would like to have a superpower that heals people that were greatly affected by the virus. Something like, when I hold their hand, they will be healed immediately. I thought of it that quick because as a COVID-19 survivor, I knew how hard it is to have been affected physically and emotionally. I believe that the superpower I had then was to stay optimistic in all difficulties that the virus has caused me. It’s not easy, but I managed to recover because I have my friends here in Iowa, my PassportUSA family, my family/relatives, and my husband back in the Philippines as my sidekicks who have given their full support and care until I was healed."What does winning "PassportUSA Employee of the Year" mean to you? "The moment I stepped onto the U.S. soil, I told myself that whenever I present myself at work, I am representing all Filipino nurses in the United States and all the nurses under PassportUSA. I have always been grateful for the opportunities that PassportUSA has given me and now, being the RN Employee of the Year is already an achievement. More than anything, I want to become an inspiration to many, and this provides a lot of inspiration to all the nurses, no matter where they are in the world, who dreams of coming to the U.S. to be offered such amazing chances as much as I did. I’ve experienced it firsthand and I’m living proof that if you’re talented, smart, easily relatable to people and when you have the right organization such as PassportUSA to back you up, your dreams of working and living in the U.S. is really possible."What advice would you suggest to other healthcare professionals to succeed in their job here in the U.S.? "I’ve always been a dreamer and a firm believer in putting my dreams into action. Keeping that mindset from the beginning helped me to be where I am now, and I would highly suggest to other healthcare professionals to have the same mindset as I have because it will help them to stay motivated. Also, comes with that mindset is nourishing one’s KSA – knowledge, skills, and attitude. Having that right amount of knowledge, knowing the skills needed for your profession, and the perfect winning attitude will keep them stay on track and succeed in their job here in the U.S. If you already possess these qualities and characteristics, remember to stay on your ground and be thankful for the people who will assist you in reaching your dreams. Most importantly, pray to God. I sincerely pray for His blessings and guidance every night before I sleep. I made it through because of Him."[caption id="attachment_356299" align="alignnone" width="600"]

Noel in the USA[/caption]

We are extremely proud of Noel's accomplishments and dedication in 2020 and we look forward to his success in 2021!

After voting from all of the eligible 2020 PassportUSA Employees of the Month, we are hereby honored to announce that the winner of 2020’s PassportUSA Allied Employee of the Year contest is Jose Angelo (aka Gelo)!Congratulations to our physical therapist, Gelo, as he will enjoy a spotlight on both our Facebook and website! He will also receive the winner’s certificate for the year, bragging rights, and an electronic gift of his choice!Gelo began his journey with Health Carousel back in 2018. He never gave up on himself and his faith in our company. His genuine ability to transition smoothly, collaborate with the team, stay positive, and his continued hard work has helped him win the title of the PassportUSA 2020 Allied Employee of the Year!

"Gelo has persevered through the storm of COVID-19. After educating all therapists, he was the first therapist in our group to try a telehealth visit. This inspired the rest of the team and now all of us are doing some telehealth." -Director of Rehab

Gelo, it is an honor having you as a part of the PassportUSA family. Congratulations again, and to a job well done!We asked Gelo about his career growth, and this is what he had to say:What professional accomplishment are you most proud of from the past year? "I am proud that I have started my Doctorate of Physical Therapy courses and I am currently in my third semester now. I consider this as an accomplishment since this would help me grow and be better in my profession."What is your biggest motivation for being a healthcare professional and why? "My biggest motivation for being a healthcare professional is seeing myself make a difference to my patients' lives. As a physical therapist, I have a great opportunity to actually affect my patients' quality of living, and to see them live their lives with the utmost quality of being able to enjoy their time with their families pain-free or knowing they are able to do the things they love again, that is enough reason to motivate me."If you could have any superpower what would it be and why? " If I could have any superpower then I would choose the ability to heal and eradicate any type of disease. I would stop this COVID-19 pandemic."What does winning "PassportUSA Employee of the Year" mean to you? "Winning the PassportUSA Allied Employee of the Year contest means a lot to me and my family. This award means that my hard work and sacrifices are being acknowledged and appreciated. This is also proof of my strong work ethic that is valuable for my future growth and opportunities."What advice would you suggest to other healthcare professionals to succeed in their job here in the U.S.? "Do your job not for yourself but for others (your patients). Remember that we are not doing this for the money. Imagine how lucky we are to be able to help other people make their lives better and see them bounce back from whatever medical setback they are in. I think that is the most wonderful feeling in the world. And as a bonus, you get to be paid pretty well. What else could you ask for, right?"[caption id="attachment_356300" align="alignnone" width="600"]

Gelo and his wife in the USA[/caption]

We are extremely proud of Gelo's accomplishments and dedication in 2020 and we look forward to his success in 2021!

If you know someone who is currently working for PassportUSA, you can nominate them to be our next employee-of-the-month. We also accept self-referrals from current PassportUSA employees!

If you are not a current PassportUSA employee, simply apply with us today and we’ll get your journey to the USA underway!