The UP College of Nursing and Johnson & Johnson Global Community Impact has completed the Leadership Course for Advanced Practice in Public Health Nursing (NurseLEAD) on October 25, 2021 with its first batch of 50 nurse graduates from different health facilities nationwide.
The 148-hour online course aimed to hone the nurses’ leadership skills in delivering primary health care (PHC) services and population-based health programs through collaboration with relevant stakeholders and agencies. Their advanced skills will prepare them better in the management/delivery of PHC services and programs, and applying other learned leadership competencies to address current and future challenges in the health system.
“The COVID-19 pandemic, Sustainable Development Goals, and Universal Health Care Act, among others, are pressing us to approach the realization of the goals of these programs from a public health perspective. Essentially, nurses who are the main players in their implementation are expected to bring a lot to the table in terms of advanced leadership abilities and training,” stated UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla during the completion ceremony.
Padilla further noted that the demand for nurse leaders and managers is greater than ever during this pandemic, when critical evaluations are required and quickscience-based actions and choices are demanded from nurses more than any other healthcare professionals.
The experts in the field of public health and public health nursing who served as lecturers for the course were former Board of Nursing member Cora Anonuevo discussed Strategic Leadership; Philippine Nursing Research Society, Inc. Founding President Dr. Erlinda Castro-Palaganas, Systems Thinking; Center for Nurse Impact and Patient Outcomes Action Lab Director Dr. Annabelle Borromeo, Organizational Development and Change Management; and Commission on Higher Education’s Technical Committee on Nursing Education Chair Fely Marilyn Lorenzo, Importance of Policy in the Practice of Public Health.
Speakers who shared insights and experiences on professional development, advocacy and interprofessional collaboration, communication, and teamwork as core components of leadership in public health were former UPCN Dean Josefina Tuazon, Dean Sheila Bonito, University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial College Nursing Dean Betty F. Merritt, Prof. Cariaso, UP Manila Community Health and Development Program Director Dr. Anthony Geronimo Cordero, UPCN Asst. Professor Maria Angela Mabale, and UPCN Senior Lecturer Maria Rita Tamse.
The remaining speakers included UPCN Assoc. Prof. Luz Barbara Dones on managing public health interventions and providing public health services and nursing abilities in public health nurse interventions, UPCM Assoc. Prof. Dr. Carlo Irwin Panelo on integrated services and the continuum of care, and Health Futures Foundation Inc. Consultant Maria Angeline Valenzuela on project management cycle and financial management principles.
The course had synchronous and asynchronous sessions using Zoom. The UPCN Learning Management System NurseLEAD, was awarded 45 units by the Philippine Regulations Commission Board of Nursing.
The launch on Sept. 30 was attended by Mr. Raghu Krishnan, President and Managing Director of Johnson and Johnson Foundation, who intoned that to ensure that the crucial shortfall in healthcare workers is addressed, J&J’s partnership with UP Manila must focus on developing the skills and capabilities of Filipino nurses through this training.
Charmaine Lingdas
Published in UP Manila Healthscape Issue No. 32, 31 October 2021
