April 27, 2023 — The UP Manila College of Nursing (UPCN), as part of its 75th founding anniversary celebration, held an International Scientific Conference in Nursing (ISCN) 2023 on April 12 to determine the future directions of nursing education, research, and public service.
Attended by over 400 nursing practitioners and advocates from the Philippines and foreign countries, the event held at the Rizal Park Hotel, Manila highlighted the college’s commitment to promote excellence and relevance with the theme, “Building Resilient Nursing Workforce Amid Emerging Global Health Challenges.”
This is in line with the college’s partnership with the Department of Health (DOH) whose plans for the next decade for the nursing community include the improvement of nursing education in the country, increase in capacity building initiatives for nurses, and advancement of careers and leadership opportunities for nurses.
“With our policies and initiatives underway, I invite all of you to realize our collective vision: a clear roadmap for nursing practice in the country whose healthcare system empowers allied healthcare professionals and puts primacy in improving the welfare of our nurses,” said DOH Officer-In-Charge Maria Rosario S. Vergeire in her keynote speech.
UPCN Dean Sheila R. Bonito underscored in her opening remarks the importance of the conference as it provided the opportunity to reflect on the future of nursing education. “We aim to engage in meaningful discussions and collaborations that will advance the nursing profession, improve healthcare outcomes, and of course discuss the issues and challenges that we are facing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic including the economic challenges that we have.”
UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla added that the conference also provided avenues for nursing practitioners to enhance their skills not just in the clinical setting, but also in the field of research and administration. She believed that Filipino nurses are more than capable of performing multiple roles in the hospital, and that their presence in the clinical setting is highly fundamental in healthcare delivery. Therefore, it is imperative that their needs must be met in order to leverage as well the quality of patient care in the Philippines.
In a keynote speech, World Health Organization WPRO Coordinator Lluis Vinyals Torres iterated the same dilemma by emphasizing the great need for Filipino nurses to be involved in the decision making processes of the national healthcare system. He stressed that by doing so, the Philippines will create more nurses that are highly skilled and motivated to perform their jobs.
Philippine General Hospital Director Gerardo Legaspi, on the other hand, shared that the hospital is on its way to an improved health research climate and this is soon hoped to improve the welfare of both PGH patients and healthcare providers.
The conference tackled the following topics: streamlining nursing education, improving nurse involvement in health policy makings, promoting healthy work environments, utilizing modern technologies in health promotion, advancing nursing practice, and breaking down the issue of nurse migration from the Philippines. A poster presentation was also held as part of the conference with several participants winning awards.
January R. Kanindot and Francis Nicole G. Maga
