Cardinal Santos partners with ADEX, launches new global career development program for nurses

Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC) recently signed into a partnership with US-based employment agency ADEX Medical Staffing (ADEX), and launched its latest nursing career development program entitled “Step Up: The Road to Becoming a Globally Competitive Filipino Nurse”, last April 29 via ZOOM and Facebook Livestreaming.

The event was moderated by CSMC’s Director for Nursing, Leona Paula Macalintal. Present as speakers were CSMC’s President and CEO Raul Pagdanganan, Head of Human Resources Maria Louzel Diaz-Tiozon, and ADEX Chairman and CEO Peter Leibowitz. Joining the event were the other members of the Senior Management Committee: CSMC’s Chief Medical Officer
Zenaida Javier-Uy, Chief Financial Officer Marivic Mabuti, Head of Business Planning and Development Dr Shirard Adiviso, Head of Information Technology Cecile Marie Escano, Head of Ancillary Services Dr Monserrat Velasquez, and Head of Facilities Management and Safety Engr Deidre Malapitan. ADEX’s COO Tina Loh was also in attendance.

The “Step Up” Nursing Career Development Program was crafted in line with CSMC’s mission of providing world-class medical training to the medical practitioners within and outside the institution. As Diaz-Tiozon said, “It is our responsibility as a hospital to be better at developing and growing the careers of our nurses. We should be on our toes to make sure that we support their career aspirations, milestones and life stages.” The program’s goal is to support Filipino nurses by opening opportunities to become globally competitive, while ensuring safe, secure, and quality career placements through ADEX’s assistance.

“We are truly elated about having this [partnership] take flight, and we are sincerely looking forward to working with [ADEX] for so many years,” said Pagdanganan. “As our Filipino nurses step up to gain new and specialty training that will prepare them to integrate with ease into the mainstream healthcare industry in the US, [we hope they] grow a successful career as a global Filipino nurse.”

“The ADEX and CSMC partnership represents a new phase in the ongoing evolution of global nursing and patient care through migration,” said Leibowitz. “In the United States, it’s a well- known fact that Filipino nurses are the best. The emissaries that are coming to the States in the healthcare environment are truly giving not only CSMC, but the entire nation of the Philippines, a wonderful reputation. My vision is one day, we hope our clients see ADEX nurses and CSMC nurses as one global network with all of these attributes.”

CSMC also invited Jay Christopher Perez, a former CSMC nurse who migrated to the United States with the help of ADEX, to share his experience with both organizations, and how they helped him elevate his global career as a medical professional.

“Before becoming a Caring Cardinal Nurse, I worked in a secondary hospital in our province. I [made the decision] to work abroad back then, but I realized I needed sufficient experience before I embark upon my journey,” said Perez. “CSMC helped me further hone my nursing knowledge and skills. After a year of experience, I submitted my resume to ADEX. Like CSMC, ADEX has given me not only a career path [in nursing], but also the opportunity to be an immigrant in the United States.”

The event was concluded with an open forum, where questions were directed towards the executives present. Requirements, the application process, and other technical details were discussed during this portion of the session, and the controversial topic of ‘brain drain’ was also addressed.

“I think the world, in many regards, is coming together as one,” said Leibowitz. “The reputation enhancement of the Philippine medical industry is dramatic, and medical tourism is slated to grow by leaps and bounds. People will look to other places for medical care more and more
and where best to [look] than the Philippines?”

“I see this as a good opportunity to share our talent and Filipino compassion globally,” supplied Adiviso. “This is also an opportunity for our healthcare system to innovate more, not only for local but also for international requirements. As we have experienced during this pandemic, there is still a lot we need to do. I see it as a long overdue goal to strengthen our healthcare system, and to create more innovation in both the academe and in practice.”

“We want our nurses to be a part of a certain career planning,” added Pagdanganan. “The good thing about this particular, above-board program, is that right from the very start, we already sort out those nurses who may really want to go abroad, and those nurses who would prefer continuing their career here in the country. For those people going abroad, that means we will train them. At the same token, if we will be able to identify the nurses who will stay, we have continuous programs where we are also honing up their skills to be able to improve their career in the country.”

“It is for this reason that we look at this partnership indeed, as an option - a realistic andpragmatic option of career planning,” he concluded.

For more information about CSMC’s “Step Up” Nursing Career Development Program, you may reach them at 8727 0001 local 3402 or at 0956 970 5891. To get updates, like and follow them at www.facebook.com/CSMCCareers. For other programs and services that CSMC offers, please visit https://cardinalsantos.com.ph/.

CSMC advocates for self-care and managing burnout in latest webicon

 

Cardinal Santos Medical Center () returns with a new addition to their webicon series, this time in the hopes to educate Filipinos on the importance of self-care and how they can fight the effects of burnout. The webicon, aptly titled “BEAT IT: A Webicon on the Different Self-Care Strategies to Combat Burnout”, was held on April 26 via ZOOM and Facebook livestreaming.

CSMC invited Ma. Araceli Balajadia-Alcala, a clinical psychologist with 20 years of experience,to discuss the physical, behavioral, and emotional barriers that lead to burnout, as well as what can be done to address and prevent it. While CSMC’s very own Dr. Maria Naval Rivas, Head of the Mental Health and Wellness Center, served as the moderator of the session.

Balajadia-Alcala spoke about what burnout was, how it has affected many individuals but most especially those who are working in the medical field as frontliners during the pandemic, and what can be done to prevent or treat it.

She cited the World Health Organization’s definition of burnout, which is that it is the result of stress that has not been properly managed or addressed, and noted that the hallmark symptoms of burnout include loss of interest in work and in things one used to enjoy in their personal life. One can also feel physically drained, or they may notice that they have become very sickly, or have developed erratic sleeping patterns.

“Our body’s symptoms and our emotions are very good signals when something is not going right, [and can] usually give us a clue as to what is going on,” she said. “It’s not surprising that this is happening. Our bodies may be reacting negatively to the increased workload or
responsibilities, so the symptoms we may be seeing [are a] result of that.”

Balajadia-Alcala recommended planning and taking time to pause as one of the best remedies for burnout. “A pause is not a full stop, nor is it an afterthought,” she stated. “There is an intentionality to it. Pauses are not just minor players in our daily lives. They are, and should be intentionally placed there, as integral as the work that we do.”

Present also as speakers were Mikaela Joie Pascual, an HR specialist from CSMC’s HR Division, and Ave Kay Balubar, CSMC’s Assistant Manager for Medical Affairs. Pascual talked about the hospital’s psychosocial support programs for their employees to help prevent or manage burnout, while Balubar shared her experience with burnout, and how CSMC’s program helped her deal with her mental health struggles.

“For us to create a safe and comfortable environment for our employees and medical trainees, we needed to build a culture where everyone was accountable for their own health and safety,” Pascual said. “With the help of one of our psychiatrists, Dr. Lourdes Ignacio, we crafted a psychosocial well-being framework, which has served as our anchor in creating holistic programs for our people.”

Balubar, on the other hand, narrated, “I mustered the courage and registered for the hospital’s psychosocial wellness program [after] realizing and admitting to myself I needed help [for my burnout]. What was remarkable with that long session with Dr. Ignacio was how it made me feel unloaded. It made a big difference on how I handled my stresses and my anxieties.”

The webicon was concluded through a Q&A session with all the panelists, where they debunked several misconceptions regarding burnout, and stressed the importance of allowing oneself to feel emotions, normalize that it is okay to not be okay, and learn how to pause, or listen and empathize if someone you know is undergoing burnout.

“My advice is, you really need to [know] your own standard,” Rivas said. “You know how you work, and you know your boundaries. Not saying yes to something that is beyond our boundaries is not an inadequacy. There should be a point where you can say ‘no’.”

As the hospital’s healthcare workers carry on with their mission of healing and saving lives, Cardinal Santos Medical Center pledged the continuity and improvement of their employee psychosocial support programs.

For more information about CSMC’s Mental Health and Wellness Center, as well as other programs and services that CSMC offers, please visit https://cardinalsantos.com.ph/. CSMC is also on Facebook, like and follow them at www.facebook.com/CardinalSantos.

Wais negosyo tips: four easy ways to level up your small business

Whether you run an SME as a side hustle or full time, growing a business is not an easy task. In order for your business to thrive, and not just survive, you need a combination of the right strategy and solution like SME superapp Enstack.

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business to the next level. After submitting an ID, a selfie, and Proof of Billing during signup, you can start offering customers important in app services such as digital payments and on-demand shipping while enjoying low rates. Until the end of May you can also enjoy free shipping 1 and zero transaction fees on orders worth ₱500 and above when you use Enstack integrated couriers and digital payment options.

Maging isang madiskarteng business owner and set yourself up for growth with these four tips from Enstack:


Keep your store open 24/7
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Bill your customers right away
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Accept that ‘cashless’ will be king
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