Born in Guam, “where America’s day begins,” Sonya Manibusan prepares and dines on Guamanian food every night with her 78-year-old mother, who lives with her.
Gift Nelson, B.S.N., R.N., pursued nursing in part because the cultural expectation in her native Thailand is that children will care for their parents as they age.
Percy Paclibar, M.B.A., B.S.N., R.N., CCRN-K, encouraged his 18-year-old son to stay at home even though he has completed nursing school and is working as an intensive care unit (ICU) nurse — so he can save money for his own home. “In Filipino culture, it’s about the determination to succeed. Your goal is to get better and I want to help him have the chance to plan ahead,” Paclibar said.
The three came to the U.S. from very different places and all of them bring strong cultural values they share at work at Texas Health. Almost 12% of the system’s employees are Asian American/Pacific Islanders, a broad category that encompasses a world of diverse cultures and experiences to be embraced as their heritage is celebrated this month.
For Guamanians, known to each other as Chamorros, “family is everything; mom is the matriarch and we worship her,” said Manibusan, right, volunteer director at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. Her family moved to her uncle’s ranch in Bastrop when she was
3 1/2. “We are very, very rooted in doing the right thing in every aspect of our lives, with our families being the source of inspiration.”
She loves her role at Texas Health, where she has built a career since 2008. But life in the U.S. as a Pacific Islander has not always been smooth.
“I got called every name in the book,” she said. “Any derogatory name. But when things get hard, I’m going to take the high road. It didn’t do anything but fuel my fire to educate.”
Texas Health was supportive when she ran into difficulties early in her career here, and to get through the challenges she applied her philosophy for life: “Kindness cures all. I believe in my heart of hearts that it mends every single bridge.”
Texas Health Dallas is home for her in several ways. “I can’t separate my personal and professional life. I’m on a 10-year cancer survivorship that was diagnosed while I was pregnant — this hospital saved my life and the life of my precious daughter, Faith.”
Growing up in two nations
Nelson started at Texas Health as a graduate nursing resident nine years ago, after a childhood that straddled her native Thailand and the U.S. She’s now surgery manager at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford.
Thailand enjoys a rich tradition of nicknames. Born Kanokwan Mahitthikorn, she was nicknamed Gift after her parents tried unsuccessfully to have a child, gave it up to God and then had her in the lucky Year of the Dragon. She came to the U.S. with her mother at age 2 and moved back and forth almost every year until she graduated from high school, as her father maintained his auto mechanic business in Thailand.
Besides different curricula at school, she faced other challenges. “I didn’t really have friends — not close friends, like a bond where you’re friends from kindergarten .”
The cultures, said Nelson, left, are ” very different. For example, it’s considered offensive to touch someone’s head because it’s sacred. We take off our shoes when we step into the house. And we respect the wisdom of the elders — usually what they say is right, regardless of your own opinion.”
Her grandfather’s death from diabetes made her consider becoming a nurse. “Patient education is lacking in Thailand,” she said. “By the time he was taken to the hospital, his blood sugar was so high ‘it was too late to save him.'” She later started a radio talk show in Thailand, offering patient education on the air.
Later, nursing came up again, “so that way I can care for my parents. Thailand has very few nursing homes and only in developed cities.”
Her nursing career has always been in the operating room, but she said she also loves problem-solving as a manager.
“Being in leadership is a different calling. You get to collaborate with different disciplines and help make decisions for the betterment of the group
‘Determined to be successful’
Leadership is also a second calling for Paclibar, interim ICU manager and nurse manager of a medical-surgical-telemetry unit at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano.
He took his position at Texas Health after leaving a managerial role at one healthcare system and returning to bedside nursing for another system, part of a career that has ranged from the Philippines to Lubbock to Plano.
“My score for risk-taking is really high, I guess,” Paclibar said. “I always want to know what’s behind the door. To me, the only way to find out is to go through that door.”
The first big door was coming to Lubbock in 2001, after growing up in Manila, a city of nearly 2 million. He got into a program hiring Filipino nurses to work in Texas after convincing a recruiter he could do the work despite a lack of true bedside experience.
He told her, “I’m willing to learn, and I am determined to be successful.” He was one of 200 nurses accepted out of 1,000 applicants.
When he left for Lubbock, “the airplanes kept getting smaller and smaller,” Paclibar said. “As we were approaching Lubbock — I remember this, it was 11 a.m. — I looked out and said, ‘This is not the America I saw in the movies.’”
But Lubbock welcomed him with open arms, he said. “They were kind. They did everything they could to help the immigrant nurses coming to work for them.” He’s found the same warm reception at Texas Health, where he started March 30, 2020.
“I’ve never seen my team without a mask,” he said with a laugh.
“I was just so impressed with Texas Health. The culture here is so different, the family culture and the way we handled the pandemic — with the support and staffing and PPE — it was unprecedented.”
By Judy Wiley • Posted May 25, 2021
