Friday, August 08, 2008 Tourism grads in hospitals
MEDICAL institutions are not only promoting Cebu as the primary destination for quality medical and wellness tourism in Asia by 2010, they also consider the goal as a way to retain their personnel and attract tourism graduates.
Part of the plan would be to assign top-notch, highly paid nurses in medical tourism areas.
The Cebu Health and Wellness Council (CHWC) is considering this “very seriously,” especially since newly hired nurses are currently paid at an average of P8,000 to P10,000 a month with annual increases.
“But the amount may still be lower than other foreign hospitals. The (good) part is, medical tourism can retain them. And, in doing so, will benefit us, hospital operators, and their families that will no longer be in jeopardy (as a result of) migration,” explained CHWC president Oscar Tuason.
CHWC is a private-public sector coalition of industry stakeholders that aims to direct the development and promotion of the health and wellness industry in Cebu.
Brain drain
One of its partners, the Department of Health, believes that medical tourism will address the effect of “brain drain” that plagued the healthcare sector in the past three years.
In the past, the top three medical tourism players in Cebu—Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital (CDUH), Chong Hua Hospital, and Perpetual Succour Hospital—did not invest in medical tourism, said Tuason, also administrator of CDUH.
But the three hospitals eventually saw various opportunities in medical tourism.
Tuason said CDUH allotted about P120 million a year in the past 10 years for the upgrade and maintenance of its facilities.
He said the modern facilities at CDUH attracted foreign patients and enabled the hospital to further enhance its capabilities, particularly in the area of medical tourism.
Having increased its income, CDUH was able to increase the salaries of its personnel.
But the healthcare sector has to deal with the departure of medical personnel, who have found better-paying jobs overseas.
Medical tourist guides
Tuason said a shortage in healthcare personnel has prompted hospitals to look at qualified tourism, and hotel and restaurant management (HRM) graduates.
He told Sun.Star Cebu that HRM professionals, for instance, are hired to do jobs previously undertaken by dietitians, like handling and supervising food preparation for patients.
While HRM seems “restricted” to hotels, resorts and restaurants, he said tourism graduates may find plenty of opportunities in medical tourism.
“With the influx of medical travelers, we need professionals who are capable of guiding them (medical tourists) around or just be there to take them to destinations… at the same time (be) comfortable enough to discuss medical procedures with them,” he explained.
Still, Tuason raised the need for schools to develop and offer a course that incorporates medical services and tourism.
Tourism Undersecretary Phineas Alburo, in a phone interview, said these courses should be done at a private sector level.
He added that the Department of Tourism can partner with schools in the technical aspect, like coming up with the proper curriculum and sourcing of lecturers.
Alburo believes that HRM and tourism graduates are qualified to work anywhere, from travel agencies to hospitals, where they can handle the medical tourism desks there.
“Operating a hospital is like operating a hotel, so hospitals nowadays find it useful and practical to hire them (HRM and tourism graduates),” he said.
Local hospitals, though, are faced with the challenge of meeting international standards that would enable them to promote themselves among medical tourists. They also have to address concerns of medical travelers regarding safety, security and the traffic situation in Cebu.
Alburo advised medical institutions to work closely with travel agencies to create ideal medical tourism packages for foreign and local visitors.
The National Association of Independent Travel Agencies in Cebu, on the other hand, believes that combining luxury trips and medical procedures will provide new opportunities and new clients to tour operators and travel agencies. (NRC)
