Tenber Grota is one of the success stories of our kababayans in the emerging powerful group of nurses around the globe. He is one of the active members of FiND (Filipinos in Nursing Diaspora) paving the way for Filipino nurses to achieve their potential in the profession they are passionate about. I am fortunate to have connected with Tenber through the introduction by Jerome Babate, Executive Officer of FiND.
The thirty-four year old resident of Nunawading in Victoria holds an impressive combination of three jobs at the moment. He works part time as the Theatre Floor Coordinator at Epworth Richmond. This role involves operational management of nursing and clinical services in thirty-one operating theatres! This is one of the biggest theatre departments in Australia and also the largest private health organisation in Victoria. He is also a sessional lecturer at the Australian Catholic University where he teaches postgraduate Health, Allied Health and Nursing students from different states. The course unit is about organisational culture and management in the healthcare context. His other role is as Educator at the Australian Healthcare Academy where he trains nurses wishing to transition into perioperative nursing.
Tenber certainly has come a long way from stepping up to be the family’s breadwinner following his mother’s heart attack. He is always asked how his unique name came about.
The Australian Filipina is glad to share Tenber’s responses to questions which give insights to his persona, his struggles and his achievements.
*Please give us a bit of personal info about you.
My name is Tenber Grota. Born on the 10th of September. My name was derived from my birthday. I was born and raised in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. Parents hailed from Or. Mindoro as well. We lived a very simple life. mom (Nanay) owned a small “karinderya (eatery)” while dad (Tatay) worked as a tricycle driver.
I am the third of four siblings. Two older brothers and a sister. Eldest brother is an international ship captain; my elder brother resides in Calapan with wife and kids, and my sister currently studies Accountancy at a university.
I completed my primary and secondary education in Calapan. I completed my Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the Lyceum of the Philippines University. I took the Nursing Licensure exam in late 2008 and passed early 2009. I started working at a private hospital in Calapan as an RN right after obtaining my license. I worked there for three years and then in 2012, mom had a heart attack and I needed to step in as the new breadwinner of the family hence the decision to work in New Zealand.
The thing I remember most about my childhood was my love for learning amidst poverty, and my mom has been really instrumental in instilling to me the value of education. She is a teacher by trade but she chose to open a small eatery within our place of residence so we could always stay together. Consequently, I was the valedictorian of our class in kindergarten and I went on to become a fairly good student up until college and through to postgrad studies.
* From information we have received about you, you worked for 7 years in New Zealand before coming to Australia. When did you arrive there and what positions you held there; and what did the roles entail?
I arrived in New Zealand in October 2012, and I did a 6-week bridging programme which was a requirement to practice as an RN there. I received my RN license in November 2012 and started working as an Operating Room RN from January 2013 at the largest public hospital in Auckland with the busiest emergency presentations in Australasia.
I worked in my first job until 2017 and then moved to a private health organisation the same year to take on the role of a Perioperative Services Manager where I oversaw the company’s three sites in Auckland CBD, South Auckland, and North Shore.
* How was your settling in NZ like? What difficulties did you experienced?
NZ was witness to our struggle as a family. We lost a lot due to my mom’s medical needs and expenses.
The first time I stepped foot in NZ, I didn’t really have the time to settle as my focus was to support my family back home ASAP. I went there with only $300 in my pocket which was just enough to pay the rent for three weeks. I was literally empty handed, and with me were just the courage and hope that somehow, I could land a job to be able to provide for my family.
NZ and its people have been really good to me, and I couldn’t remember any instance when I felt otherwise. I landed a job while still completing my bridging programme and by the third month I managed to pay off our debts in the Philippines, and the rest was history.
* What would you consider to be the best parts and achievements of your stay in NZ?
New Zealand provided me with the best experiences for a young adult barely knowing what to do with his life, while at the same not forgetting his responsibilities as a son and a brother. I was 25 when I moved there and over the years, I managed to enjoy life, develop my career, travel in 15 countries, find and lose love, and learn valuable life lessons along the way.
A few of my achievements include completion of a postgraduate diploma in advanced nursing with merit (I think its equivalent to magna cum laude in Ph), completion of a master’s degree in health services management with distinction (I think its equivalent to summa cum laude in Ph). I tried Med School as well but I realised it wasn’t for me and I eventually dropped out, developed my career in health service management with my last role involving multisite management and direction of the company’s perioperative services.
I believe I achieved things in NZ that were far beyond what my peers (people of the same age as me, and people of the same degree as me) could only dream of or achieve in years. Because of that, I have nothing but gratefulness to NZ for all the opportunities, achievements, and life experiences.
* What made you decide to come to Australia from NZ in 2018? Please share the process you undertook to come here?
My partner for 5 years wanted to study a master’s degree in urban horticulture and The University of Melbourne is the only university in the Southern hemisphere who offers this.
My partner applied and got in. I secured a job as a Director of Nursing. Consequently, we moved to Melbourne. As I am a NZ citizen with a current NZ-RN licence, I didn’t really need to do anything in terms of immigration processes. So we just bought a ticket, sold the things I hoarded in NZ, and flew to Melbourne.
* What positions have you held since you arrived in Australia and what did they entail?
First job was Director of Nursing where I oversaw two facilities, one in West Melbourne and one in North Melbourne. Second job was a fixed term Nurse Unit Manager position at one of the best paediatric hospitals in the world. Third and current permanent part time job is Theatre Coordinator position at the largest private hospital in Victoria where I supervise the operational delivery of perioperative services in 31 operating theatres. I am also currently a sessional lecturer at the Australian Catholic University teaching postgraduate students. My course unit is organisational culture and management within the healthcare context.
* What are the differences did you find about the Fil-NZ community and the Fil-Aus community?
It’s hard to compare as I’ve only been here for three years, and a big majority of that is under lockdown conditions which have affected a lot of the social activities that we can do.
I would say that in the seven years that I have lived and worked in NZ, I definitely felt the camaraderie. I am hopeful that with the restrictions being lifted that I’ll be able to engage and connect more with the Filipino community here in Australia.
* Please tell us what is the main topic of your Doctor of Philosophy studies and at what stage are you in it now, and what do you wish to achieve with it?
The topic of my research is around nurse-surgeons. These are nurses who perform surgeries independently. I have just started in February this year and I am lucky enough to be offered a highly competitive scholarship programme by the Australian government which means I don’t pay any tuition fees and I also get an annual stipend on top of that to support my living costs while completing my study.
My most recent milestone was the publication of my first ever international article on the International Journal of Nursing Studies (Advances). IJNSA is a companion title to the IJNS, which is considered #1 out of the 124 recognised nursing journals worldwide.
This is the link if anyone is interested to read it - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnsa.2021.100048
* If you are able to change something you experienced or you did in the past, what would they be? What else do you wish to achieve in life/your profession?
I won’t change a thing because those experiences moulded me to what I am today. If I stayed in Mindoro my whole life, imagine the missed opportunities and life lessons that I would not have learned, had I not left my hometown.
With my professional experience as a clinician and health service manager, I am now ready to slowly transition into research and academia. Hence the decision to study PhD.
I hope to become a renowned researcher in the perioperative space someday who advocates for the futureproofing and empowerment of the nursing workforce.
* What advice would you give kababayans who maybe having difficulties in settling in their new home country or in their studies?
It takes courage to settle in another country, or try another job, or go back to studies or try something different in general. But if you really have the heart to achieve things in life, you just have to take the first step, and the first step is always the hardest.
Just don’t let your fears conquer you, try it and see where it will take you. If you fail, keep moving forward, and things will eventually fall into its proper place.
* How do you define success?
Success is the fulfillment and happiness you get from doing what you love while at the same time having your family behind you, and I am lucky to have that. I have a family and a partner who always support me in whatever I do while at the same time, enjoying my career as a researcher and an advocate for the empowerment and futureproofing of the nursing profession. I consider those things as my little successes, and hopefully more in the future. And that’s how I would define success.
The Australian Filipina wishes Tenber continued success in his profession and studies, and personal life.