BAGUIO CITY —The training of close to 1,000 nurse practitioner enhancement program (NPEP) trainees at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) has been cancelled following the order of Health Secretary Enrique Ona terminating all nursing training programs in hospitals retained by the Department of Health (DOH).

DOH Cordillera Human Resource Management Division  (HRMD) Section head Caridad Binwag said that Department of Health memorandum 0238 issued on Aug. 22, 2011 ordering the termination of all volunteer, training and other programs in DOH retained hospitals contradicts the Volunteer Act of 2007.

Binwag said that the program cancellations have an adverse effect on the operation of hospitals, especially at the BGHMC where hundreds come on a daily basis to seek medical help.

BGHMC, being a tertiary hospital, also serves patients from other provinces in the Cordillera and and nearby regions.

Binwag said that Ona’s memorandum sought to ensure the delivery of safe and quality health services where the training of nurses should not involve monetary consideration.

The order, she said, affected four hospitals in the region namely the Luis Hora Medical Center in Bontoc, Conner District Hospital and Far North Hospital and Training Center in Apayao, and the BGHMC.

She said that based on the assessment, the order has an impact on the operation of the hospital although she said that the BGHMC is coming up with measures to address the situation.

She quoted BGHMC nursing department head Elena Tampican who said they scheduling staff nurses available, who have to render additional time, to augment the manpower.

Dr. Nieves Macaranas, head of the under-5 clinic at BGHMC, said that they felt the effect of the order, especially in the quality of service they deliver to the clients.

She said that the under-5 clinic receives a minimum of 200 clients a day who are provided with services ranging from regular child care and counseling to the children’s mothers.

She also cited that the Emergency Room, which only has seven staff nurses, also has to deal with the patients who come 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

The emergency room has 16 NPEP trainees assigned per shift, who augment the services and provide assistance to emergency cases.

Randolf Rimando, a registered nurse who is undergoing the nurse practitioner enhancement program (NPEP) at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center said, “We are not volunteers. We are on training because we pay P4,000.”

The NPEP program runs for four months where the trainees undergo an initial two to three weeks of didactic learning of theories and laws pertaining to the profession.

 This is then followed by their assignment to hospital departments where they acquire hands-on training.