Wednesday, October 11, 2006 Cebu Doc signs pact with medical facility in US over hiring of studes
A top executive of a university hospital in Cebu City yesterday admitted that the departure of Filipino nurses for overseas jobs is affecting local conditions.
“I am sad that many of our nursing students leave the country, but that is reality. It’s also for their own welfare,” Cebu Doctors’ University (CDU) president Dr. Potenciano Larrazabal Jr. said.
He said the continuing demand for nurses abroad, particularly in the United States, has “affected” Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital’s nursing staff and services.
“Every two or three months, you see different faces and, of course, their services will vary,” he said following the signing of a memorandum of agreement between CDU and Good Samaritan Hospital.
Good Samaritan Hospital (GSH), a US-based hospital, forged a partnership with CDU to establish a pool of personnel, students, nurses and doctors.
The partnership generates career opportunities for CDU students and graduates in the United States, particularly in California.
GSH president and chief executive officer Andrew Leeka said CDU nursing graduates will undergo two and a half years of skills development training before they are employed by the hospital.
Dedicated
“We are interested in quality rather than quantity to ensure that those we hire will be able to work efficiently. We don’t settle for adequacy but competency. So we want to get dedicated and committed Filipino nurses who will work for us, and we believe you have those here in Cebu,” Leeka said.
He said the program, which is GSH’s first venture in the Philippines, will provide a system of comprehensive hiring for Filipino nurses. The system enables direct employment and eliminates the use of “middlemen.”
The program, which will begin in three years, will take in 10 to 15 applicants per year.
But while the program will result in more CDU nurses leaving the country, Larrazabal assured that nursing graduates who will qualify to go to GSH will be required to render two years of service at the CDU hospital.
Leeka said there is “tremendous” demand for Filipino nurses particularly in California.
Demand
“Around 22,000 nurses are in demand right now,” he said. California’s aging population and an increase in the number of US nurses retiring spawned the demand for foreign nurses, including those from the Philippines, Korea, Japan, India and Africa.
Of GSH’s 500 nurses, 30 to 35 percent are Filipinos, said Lexie Schuster of GSH.
According to GSH director for employment and labor management Angela Pelayo, the program is initially open for nursing graduates only.
An exchange program is also provided for physicians from both hospitals who want to undergo further research and study.
Good Samaritan is a non-profit hospital, which began operation in 1885. It has a capacity of 408 beds.
Larrazabal is optimistic the program will encourage CDU students to become “more competent, committed, and compassionate” in their field of study.
“They will have to earn that opportunity to work in Good Samaritan,” he said. (MMM)
