The University of the Philippines Open University’s Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS), Master of Arts in Nursing (MAN) program in collaboration with the Association of Nursing Service Administrators of the Philippines Inc. (ANSAP) conducted Let’s Talk it Over (LTiO) webinar titled “Nursing Service Preparedness amidst the Pandemic” on 22 July 2020 via the UPOU Networks.
The webinar was moderated by Ms. Maria Rita V. Tamse and Asst. Professor Rita C. Ramos. In their introductory remarks, they said that ANSAP and MAN Program have been disseminating information regarding the current situation and this webinar tackled the experiences of the speakers with regards to the management, coping mechanism, and preparedness during this time of pandemic.
The first speaker, Dr. Rodolfo C. Borromeo is the current president of ANSAP and the Chief Nursing Officer of the Manila Doctors Hospital. He presented their hospital’s preparedness framework. Aside from adapting different effective practice models from other countries, their preparedness framework was collaboratively done by the senior management team. The framework includes general conditions, human resource management, supplies, infrastructure, support systems and new normal integration. Dr. Borromeo also showed how their hospital does active training and education which is collaboratively done by doctors and nurses. He ended his presentation by emphasizing that resiliency and teamwork are what really allowed them to pull everything together.
Ms. Maria Cecilia E. Punzalan, OIC of the Division of Nursing Education and Training of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), was the second speaker. She shared the best practices being done by the PGH such as pro-active support in the management directives and initiatives and introducing innovations, including the use of e-documentation which helped not just the nurses but also other staff, and also of infographics for announcements and protocols for better mass communication. Ms. Punzalan emphasized the provision of psychological support for their nursing personnel. She advised that we also need to look at the learnings amidst these challenges.
(This was originally posted on the UP Open University website on July 22, 2020)