UP Manila Hosts Nagoya University Nursing Students for Maternal and Child Health Immersion

March 04, 2026

Text by: Charmaine A. Lingdas
Photos by: Jericho Paolo L. Mabansag

The University of the Philippines Manila (UP Manila) welcomed a delegation of nursing faculty and graduate students from Nagoya University on March 3, 2026, for a week-long academic and clinical immersion centered on maternal and child health public nursing.

In the courtesy meeting at the UP Manila President’s Office, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Bernadette Heizel Reyes, discussed the International Student Program (ISP) activities. The students will undergo observational visits at the University of the Philippines College of Nursing (UPCN), the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), and the Manila Health Department.

“They are going to observe nursing education classes and then they are going to have observations in different clinical areas like the OB ward, OPD, and also the pediatric ward. They are also going to also have community visits, specifically in Dr. Mariano Icasiano Health Center and Lying-In Clinic,” said Asst. Prof. Divina Fernandez, UPCN ISP Coordinator for Nagoya University.

The classroom and hospital visits were designed to deepen foreign students’ understanding of nursing education and healthcare delivery in the Philippine context.

At PGH, the students will primarily observe high-risk and complicated cases.

“Here in PGH, a lot of the mothers who deliver here have multiple underlying illnesses. So, the hospital caters basically to high-risk pregnancies, teen pregnancies, not so many normal deliveries,” Vice Chancellor Reyes said. This allows the visiting students to compare management approaches to pre-eclampsia, placenta previa, and other complications commonly handled in a national referral hospital.

“In Icasiano, you would see a lot of normal deliveries. So, that’s going to be very different,” she explained. In contrast, their visit to Icasiano Health Center will highlight primary care and routine maternal services, emphasizing the value of seeing both ends of the healthcare spectrum.

Aside from clinical immersion, the Japanese students will also be treated to a visit to the National Museum of Fine Arts, allowing them to better understand the Philippine social and historical context that shapes health behaviors and systems.

“I value mobility exchanges like this because now we appreciate each other. And maybe we can think of things to help each other’s country,” Vice Chancellor Reyes said.

The Nagoya University delegation was composed of Dr. Mayumi Mizutani and Dr. Aya Tomita, supervising faculty members, along with fourth-year student Ririka Ito and third-year student Miya Nakane. They were also welcomed by Asst. Prof. Laurence Lloyd Parial, UPCN Office of International and Local Linkages Coordinator.