chardy-nurses notes

UK-based Pinoys join protest vs budget cuts

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:23:00 +0000

LONDON – More than 500 Filipino medical workers were among those who participated in the huge protest last week dubbed as the “March for the Alternative” of the Trade Union Congress in the United Kingdom

The event gathered an estimated 300,000 protesters who denounced budget cuts in public services and welfare benefits as well as reforms in the National Health Service (NHS).

Aside from the nurses, teachers, students, union members and organized labor groups also joined the rally.

The Pinoy marchers believe the budget cut will eventually cut off employment opportunities for new Filipino nursing graduates to give way to EU citizens.

Louie Yambao has been working as a nurse in London for 9 years now. Yambao said the only way that nurses can come in thru London is via student visa, which requires a 10-hour work policy weekly.

However, this is not enough to sustain living conditions in London.

Although the Pinoys joined the rally, they were not involved in the clashes between police and a breakaway group of protesters who attacked commercial establishments along Oxford and Regent Streets. Danny Buenafe, ABS-CBN Europe and Middle East News Bureau chief

Heart-attack risk spikes after sex, exercise

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:55:00 +0000

source: By Anne Harding, Health.com

(Health.com) -- Exercising or having sex just about triples a person's risk of heart attack in the hours immediately afterward, especially if the person does those activities infrequently, according to a new analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Heart patients shouldn't abstain from sex or forgo exercise based on this finding, however. Although a threefold increase in heart-attack risk sounds scary, the overall likelihood of having a heart attack after working out or making love is still very low -- on the order of 3 in 1,000,000, as opposed to 1 in 1,000,000.

"Definitely, one should not interpret our findings as meaning that physical activity or sexual activity are dangerous or harmful," says one of the study's authors, Issa Dahabreh, M.D., a researcher at Tufts Medical Center's Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies, in Boston, Massachusetts. "The effect at an individual level is small."

Health.com: Surprising heart attack risks
Moreover, the study participants who were more physically active appeared to be less susceptible to a heart attack following intercourse or a workout.

"People who exercise regularly have a much smaller increase in risk, if any," Dr. Dahabreh says.

Numerous studies have suggested that physical activity, including sex, can trigger a heart attack or cardiac arrest, but the magnitude of the risk has been unclear. To arrive at an estimate, Dahabreh and his coauthor reanalyzed data from 14 such studies dating back to the 1980s.

All of the studies used a so-called case-crossover design, in which the participants' activities in the one- to two-hour period leading up to their heart attacks were compared with their usual routines. If physical activity or sex were more common during the pre-heart-attack period than at other times, it would suggest that they triggered the attack.

Health.com: 5 ways to cut your heart attack risk
In the hours after exercising, the researchers found, a person's risk of heart attack increased about 3.5 times, while his or her risk increased about 2.7 times within two hours of having sex. Physical activity also quintupled the risk of sudden death due to cardiac arrest.

However, the risk of heart attack or cardiac death was reduced by 45% and 30%, respectively, for each additional workout the study participants completed in a typical week.

Although the overall (or absolute) risk of heart attack after sex or exercise is "very, very small," Dahabreh says, the findings do suggest that sedentary people who want to get in shape should increase their level of physical activity gradually to avoid undue stress on their hearts. (The American Heart Association makes the same recommendation.)

Health.com: The 10 best foods for your heart
Geoffrey Tofler, M.D., a professor of preventive cardiology at the University of Sydney Medical School, in Australia, stresses that it is extremely rare for sex or exercise to trigger a heart attack.

"If a healthy 50-year-old person has [a] one-in-a-million chance of having a heart attack in any given hour, tripling the risk will still only make three chances in a million of a heart attack in that hour," says Tofler, a co-author of one of the analyzed studies whowas not involved in the new research.

The analysis was "conducted very thoroughly" and is close to being the last word on the subject, Tofler adds. The findings should reassure heart patients and their partners, who are often anxious about whether it's safe to resume sexual activity after a heart attack or heart-disease diagnosis. "In conjunction with a return to regular physical activity, sexual activity carries a minimal risk," he says.

WHO urges more effort in fighting drug-resistant TB

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:30:00 +0000

source: By Masuzyo Chakwe

WORLD leaders need to step up their commitment and contributions to meet the goal of diagnosing and treating one million people with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) between 2011 and 2015, says global health organisations.

Commenting on the World TB Day which fell yesterday, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Stop TB Partnership called on world leaders to step up their commitment and contributions.

WHO yesterday released a report titled ‘Towards Universal Access to Diagnosis and Treatment of MDR-TB and XDR-TB by 2015’, which presents progress in the MDR-TB response in the countries with the highest burden of drug-resistant TB.
WHO director general Dr Margaret Chan said many countries had made progress, but despite the recent scale up in efforts, the world needed to do much more to get care to all MDR-TB patients who need it.

“We cannot allow MDR-TB to spread unchecked,” she said.

Dr Chan said leaving MDR-TB untreated increased the risk of spreading drug resistant strains of tuberculosis and WHO estimates that there would be more than two million new cases of MDR-TB between 2011 and 2015.

It stated that it was anticipated that the Global Fund would provide 84 per cent of all international investments in tuberculosis in 2011.

However, it stated that both domestic and international resources need to be scaled up to cope with MDR-TB and continue to make progress in the fight against TB.

Global Fund executive director Professor Michel Kazatchkine said MDR-TB was a threat to all countries as it is difficult and expensive to treat.

“Unless we make an extraordinary effort to tackle this problem, our ability to finance and secure continued progress against TB in general will be threatened” said Prof Kazatchkine.

United Nations secretary general’s special envoy to stop TB Dr Jorge Sampaio said it was time for countries with rapidly growing economies and a heavy burden of MDR-TB to step up their commitment and financing for their own MDR-TB programmes.

Dr Sampaio said several had the capacity to show new leadership on south-south cooperation and aid to neighbouring countries that are also affected.
And Stop TB Partnership executive secretary Dr Lucica Ditiu said the Global Fund's success could be measured in the number of lives that had been saved through care provided by the TB programmes it finances.

“Every TB patient should have access to proper care. We advocate on behalf of millions of patients worldwide and our strong partners such as WHO and the Global Fund. To reach a million people with effective care for MDR-TB over the next five years, we will need to work closely with all partners, especially with affected communities,” said Dr Ditiu.

MDR-TB is a form of tuberculosis that fails to respond to standard first-line drugs.

POEA sees more demand for Pinoys in Japan

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 00:02:00 +0000

source:sunstar.com.ph

AS REPORTS of Japan possibly slipping into recession surface, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) refused to be alarmed and instead see it as an opportunity to send in more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

In a phone interview, POEA Administrator Carlos Cao said he believes that the tragedy will be providing an opportunity for more Filipino nurses and caregivers to be demanded by Japanese health authorities.

“On the contrary, we think there will be more demands for Filipino nurses and caregivers since the recovery and rehabilitation in Japan will be on a massive level,” said Cao.

Aside from caregivers and nurses, he said the rehabilitation program will also result in the need for more construction workers.

The labor official, however, admitted that there is indeed a possibility that Japan slipping into recession could result to some job losses.

“It may have an impact on the OFWs in that sense,” said Cao while refusing to speculate on possible job losses.

Last Monday, international economists expressed fears that Japan's already weak economy is in danger of slipping back into recession in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that hit the country last Friday.

The POEA chief, for his part, believes that Japan slipping into a recession may be unlikely since it is considered as the world’s third largest economy.

“We all know about the resiliency of the Japanese economy so we hope and pray that they will be able to recover immediately,” said Cao.

POEA records show that there are now some 225,000 OFWs working in Japan as of last year. (AMN/Sunnex)

Filipino health workers draw praise in Libya

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 02:12:00 +0000

source: By Gilbert P. Felongco, Correspondent

Some 8,000 show commitment to profession by remaining in restive Libya

Manila: While most overseas workers in Libya had been trying to leave, Filipina nurses in the embattled North African country are drawing praise for their commitment to their vocation.
Reports reaching Manila said that thousands of Filipino nurses and medical staff have chosen to brave and wait out the several weeks of political strife out of professional commitment.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said that despite a move by the Philippine government to offer repatriation to Filipinos who volunteer to get out of Libya, some 8,000 nurses and other medical workers chose to stay despite the obvious risk to their lives.

"Our nurses deserve our admiration and also, I guess it's the reason Libyan people love Filipinos there," he said recently upon his return to Manila at the end of a two-week visit to Libya and Tunisia.

There are 1,300 Filipino nurses employed by the Tripoli Medical Centre — one of the largest hospital in Libya — and a further 600 at the Benghazi Medical Centre

Strategic areas
The fighting between government forces of Muammar Gaddafi and rebels had been largely confined to strategic areas in Tripoli and Benghazi and medical facilities in these locales are hard-pressed attending to civilian as well as military casualties. Conejos said that because of the commitment shown by Filipino medical workers, they have earned the respect of not only the Libyans, but other foreign nationals as well.

Prior to the outbreak of protests against the government of Gaddafi, the Department of Foreign Affairs said there were 26,000 Filipinos in Libya at any given time.

These Philippine nationals include skilled workers, information technology professionals, engineers, oil field workers, technicians as well as medical workers.

As of Friday, the DFA said nearly 14,000 Filipinos have left Libya. Of this number, more than 6,000 are already in Manila.

Earlier, Labour and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said her department's National Reintegration Centre for Overseas (NRCO) Filipino workers is ready with appropriate programmes for returnees, particularly those who have arrived and those yet to arrive from Libya.

She said mechanisms to ensure their smooth reintegration to mainstream Philippine society are in place.

Reintegration initiatives
"Even before this crisis in Libya erupted, the NRCO has already established various reintegration programmes for OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers)," said Dimapilis-Baldoz, adding that as early as November last year President Benigno Aquino instructed the Labour Department to set aside one billion pesos (Dh84.5 million) for the reintegration programme.

At least one out of every 10 Filipinos is employed in jobs overseas and with the current situation in North Africa and the Middle East, the Philippines could be forced to adapt measures that will allow its remittances-dependent economy to catch up with the rapidly developing changes abroad.

Powerful quake hits Japan

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 08:38:00 +0000

Powerful quake hits Japan

more details here

NLE RESULTS DECEMBER 2010 -nursing licensure exam results

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 12:02:00 +0000

Manila, Philippines - The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announces that 29,711 out of 84,287 (35.25%) passed the Nurse Licensure Examination given by the Board of Nursing in the cities of Manila, Baguio, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Dagupan, Davao, Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, La Union, Legazpi, Lucena, Nueva Ecija, Pagadian, Pampanga, Tacloban, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga last December 2010 .

The members of the Board of Nursing are Carmencita M. Abaquin, Chairman; Leonila A. Faire, Betty F. Merritt, Perla G. Po, Marco Antonio C. Sto.Tomas, Yolanda C. Arugay and Amelia B. Rosales , Members.

The results of examination with respect to two (2) examinees were withheld pending final determination of their liabilities under the rules and regulations governing licensure examination.

Those who will register are required to bring the following: duly accomplished Oath Form or Panunumpa ng Propesyonal, current Community Tax Certificate (cedula), 2 pieces passport size picture (colored with white background and complete name tag), 1 piece 1” x 1” picture (colored with white background and complete name tag), 2 sets of metered documentary stamps, and 1 short brown envelope with name and profession; and to pay the Initial Registration Fee of P600 and Annual Registration Fee of P450 for 2011-2014. Successful examinees should personally register and sign in the Roster of Registered Professionals.

The oathtaking ceremony of the successful examinees in the said examination in Manila as well as the previous ones who have not taken their Oath of Professional will be held before the Board on Monday and Tuesday, March 14 and 15, 2011, with morning (8:00 A.M.) and afternoon (1:00 P.M.) sessions at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City. All must come in their white gala uniform, nurse’s cap, white duty shoes, without earrings, hair not touching the collar and without corsage .

Oathtaking tickets for the National Capital Region (NCR) and nearby regions will be available at the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA) at 1663 F.T. Benitez Street, Malate, Manila, from February 28, 2011 on a “first come first serve” basis. Online Priority number is required to avail of tickets. Please logon to http://www.nurseoathtaking.net. “No Online Priority Slip, No access to tickets ”.

All regional oathtaking schedules will be posted in the BON website: www.bonphilippines.org .

NLE RESULTS DECEMBER 2010 -

Japanese gov't to make nursing exams easier

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 21:56:00 +0000

source: mb.com.ph

MANILA, Philippines – Following the dismal passing percentage of those who are taking the national licensure in Japan for “kangoshi” (nurses) and “kaigofukushishi” (caregiver), the Japanese government has begun to introduce several improvements to make the examination easier for foreign applicants by replacing difficult words with easier ones.

In a press briefing held in Pasay City Tuesday, the Japanese Embassy disclosed that the improvement started last year by replacing too technical Japanese medical terms into the more popularly used and much easier English words like diabetes, cataract and pulmonary tuberculosis, among others.

Embassy officials pointed out that before only the Japanese equivalent of diabetes is used "but now we are using the English word in the examination papers of the prospective nurses and caregivers. We now add English words to the specific name of the disease."

So far, only one Filipina nurse passed the qualification exam since the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) took effect about three years ago.

The Embassy said although there are already two batches of candidate nurses and caregivers who are currently in Japan, the Japanese Emnassy is still selecting the candidates who will compose the third batch who will head off to Japan "sometime in the spring of this year."

Those who will be chosen for the third batch, the Japanse Embassy said it will provide additional preliminary Japanese language training here in Manila before they enter Japan which is equivalent to 2-3 months training.

This is apart from the six-month training that they will undergo upon entry to Japan, a process stipulated in JPEPA.

'Nurse hiring in UK stable despite budget cuts'

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 21:52:00 +0000

source: By Patrick Camara Ropeta, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau

LONDON - Filipino nurse recruitment in Britain should remain stable amid cuts on immigration and public spending in the UK, said the Philippine embassy in London.

Speaking from an event at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Essex, embassy officials welcomed newly recruited nurses and reassured other nurses from the Philippines that job opportunities in the UK should continue to become available.
“So far, the UK is not shutting its doors to foreign workers,” said Atty. Jainal Rasul, Labor Attache at the Philippine embassy in London, in an interview with The Filipino Channel.

He continued: “It has not declared any ban in the hiring of foreign workers, especially nurses. There will be reductions, of course, due to some changes, but in the long term, there will be more nurses coming in due to shortages of nurses right within the UK.”

He added that recent changes in British immigration policies should not alarm Filipino migrants who are already in the UK.

“As announced by the UK Border Agency, for those already in the UK - nurses, senior carers, and other professionals - they will not be affected by the proposed interim or permanent limit of the UK government,” he explained.

In 2011, the British government will implement changes over immigration and public spending, both of which could affect overseas recruitment in the UK, including nurses and other skilled workers from the Philippines.

Media reports suggest that an immigration cap will be implemented in the UK from April 2011, which means that only 21,700 skilled workers from outside the European Economic Area will be allowed entry into its borders, a cut of approximately 6,300 compared to 2009.

The government will also dramatically reduce its public spending budget, including a cut of £2.3 billion from the National Health Service, which funds most of the hospitals in the UK.

The cuts are fueled by financial problems caused by the recent global recession.

World-Class Nurses

Despite the cuts, the Philippine embassy is optimistic in the stability of nurse recruitment from the Philippines due to the quality of work delivered by Filipino nurses.

“The feedback has been very positive. We’ve heard officials of the UK government commending us on the hard work, dedication and competence of our Filipino nurses, and we’re very happy about those comments,” revealed Reynaldo Catapang, Charges d’Affaires at the Philippine embassy in London.

There are currently 50,000 Filipino nurses working in hospitals all over Britain, including 100 nurses at the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH).

“We’ve successfully recruited a whole batch of Filipino nurses 10 years ago. A lot of those nurses are still with us, and enjoying their period with us,” said Gerald Coteman, Chairman of PAH.

He added: “They’ve learnt a great deal and they’re contributing significantly to services that we provide here. We’ve gone out a second time to recruit from that source, and we’re very pleased with the Filipino nurses that joined us 10 years ago that we felt we’d have more of the same. We really welcome these additional nurses, and hopefully they’ll be fitting in and enjoying their time with us.”

Terry Lopez-Bishop from Bataan is one of the success stories at PAH. Trained at Saint Louis University in Baguio City, she has consistently impressed her employers and colleagues since her recruitment in 2000. She has been promoted consistently and is now a ward manager at the hospital.

“At first, it was a shock, because it’s totally different from back home,” she revealed. “The important thing to remember is we have to learn from each other - what you can give and what you can learn from another culture - and put it all together to whatever will be helpful to the patients and the hospital as well.”

She added: “Filipino nurses are able to adapt well, I believe, with the culture in here, and integrate well into the hospital and how it works in meeting standards and the needs of the patients and of the country.”

Opportunities

Thousands of Filipino nurses continue to aspire to work in the UK and other Western countries for the life-changing opportunities it affords.

“I would like to adapt here, have career progression, and inspire others, especially my colleagues back in the Philippines,” explained Sheila Dalubar, one of the newly recruited nurses at PAH.

She continued: “I wanted to come in here and explore the job opportunities that the UK is offering, and to some day bring my family here as well to enjoy the life that I’m enjoying right now. It’s been good so far because most of the people in here are really supportive and approachable, especially in the ward that I’m working in.”

According to Lopez-Bishop, the key to success as a nurse is an "open mind" and a helpful attitude.

“My advice is just be open. Do not unlearn what you have learned before. Meet halfway, and see what you can contribute, what you could do to help, and learn more as well. Have an open mind, because nursing itself is dynamic, it evolves. You just have to accept that the changes will be for the better of delivering services to the patients,” she concludes.

Nursing continues to be a popular career choice for young Filipinos who wish to work overseas, and despite the recent changes in UK policies, nurse recruitment from the Philippines should remain stable in the foreseeable future.

RN Heals a band-aid treatment for an ailing health care system

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 21:48:00 +0000

source: inquirer.net

THIS IS in reaction to a news story titled “Nurses swamp DOLE for rural jobs.” (Inquirer, 1/20/11)

There are about 200,000 unemployed nurses in the Philippines and 40,000 more are expected to be added by June. Preying on the desperation of many nurses to find jobs here or abroad, new types of “businesses,” including but not limited to the now infamous “nursing-training for a fee,” have mushroomed these past few years.

Thanks to the efforts of several health advocacy groups and the nursing community, this matter is being addressed by the Philippine Senate and other policymaking agencies of the government. I hope their response will not be another case of “ningas cogon.”

In rehashing the President Gloria Arroyo’s NARS (Nurses Assigned in Rural Areas) program into RN Heals (Registered Nurses for Health Enhancement And Local Service), the Aquino administration is admitting two realities: first, there is a high demand for the services of nurses in the Philippines; second, hundreds of poor communities in cities and rural areas direly need the services of professional health workers.

A study initiated by the Health Alliance for Democracy showed that seven out of 10 patients die without any medical attention. This paints a sad picture of the state of our country’s healthcare system. The irony of ironies is, our country has 200,000 jobless nurses but Filipinos are dying from illnesses that are treatable and preventable except that there are no health workers to attend to their health needs. The “oversupply” of nurses is therefore a myth. There is no oversupply, the demand is overwhelming; it’s just that there are no available jobs for nurses.

Is RN Heals the solution? Definitely not! This program is a palliative that will just paper over two major problems: unemployed/underemployed nurses, and our country’s failed health care delivery system. What will happen after their six-month employment under RN Heals? Its predecessor, the NARS program, did not result in tenured positions in public hospitals for a substantial number of nurses. RN Heals runs on the same template, how can it deliver a different result? RN Heals also ignores salient provisions of the Nursing Act of 2002, especially those concerning wages and benefits of entry level nurses.

If the Aquino administration is dead serious about addressing this matter, it should create more “plantilla” positions for nurses in our understaffed hospitals, build more rural health and medical centers, and aggressively deploy thousands of tenured health care providers to far-flung communities. All the rhetoric about universal health care and daang matuwid will be empty words unless they are translated into action.

Zinc helps children think

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 16:57:00 +0000

source: nutraingredients.com

Eleven-year-olds that took zinc supplements for five days each week had better mental performance after three months than their classmates, said researchers yesterday.

The children taking an extra 20mg of zinc responded more quickly and accurately on memory tasks and with more sustained attention than classmates who did not take the mineral.

Beneficial effects were seen regardless of the youngsters' previous zinc status, said the researchers led by Dr James Penland from the US Agricultural Research Service's Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center in North Dakota.

The findings, presented at the Experimental Biology meeting this week, suggest that there could be new demand for fortified foods and supplements for this age group.

Although zinc nutrition has been related to motor, cognitive and psychosocial function in very young children and adults, this is the first study of its effect in adolescents.

Zinc deficiency is not uncommon, even in nations such as the United States, and the risk is particularly high in adolescents, said Dr Penland, because they are undergoing rapid growth and often have poor eating habits. They may not consume enough zinc-rich foods like red meat, fish and grains.

Moreover the current recommended daily allowance is only 15mg for adults in the US, and up to 9.5 mg a day for men and 4-7 mg a day for women in the UK.

In the study, 111 girls and 98 boys consumed four ounces of fruit juice containing either 0, 10 or 20 mg of zinc gluconate each school day for 10 to 12 weeks. Students, their parents and teachers did not know who was receiving which, if any, zinc supplementation.

At the beginning and end of the study, students performed a battery of tasks designed to measure mental and motor skills, like attention, memory, problem-solving and hand-eye coordination.

Students, their parents, and teachers filled out questionnaires about the students' mental, physical and social abilities and skills, school performance, and problems in any of these areas to provide a measure of psychosocial function.

Blood samples measured zinc status before and after the treatment.

Compared to the students who received no additional zinc, students who consumed an additional 20 mg zinc each day decreased reaction time on a visual memory task by 12 per cent versus 6 per cent; increased correct answers on a word recognition task by 9 per cent versus 3 per cent; and increased scores on a task requiring sustained attention and vigilance by 6 per cent versus 1 per cent.

Those who received only 10 mg a day, the US Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for this age group, did not significantly improve performance, however.

Supplementation at either the 10 mg or 20 mg did not appear to improve motor and social skills, although girls receiving the placebo experienced a 10 per cent increase in conduct problems during the study while the behaviour of girls receiving any level of zinc supplementation remained unchanged, reported the researchers.

Previous studies have shown that zinc is needed for growth and immune function and may be important for eye-hand coordination and reasoning in very young children. It also appears to influence memory, muscle strength and endurance in adults.

Pfizer's Viagra Weighed by U.S. FDA for Children With Rare Lung Disorder

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 16:48:00 +0000

source: By Shannon Pettypiece and Molly Peterson

A form of Pfizer Inc.’s erection drug Viagra, sold as the blood-pressure treatment called Revatio in adults, may be used for children with a rare lung disorder if U.S. regulators can agree on how to test it.

The condition, called pulmonary arterial hypertension, affects only 600 children a year, New York-based Pfizer said. It causes high blood pressure in arteries in the lungs, making the right side of the heart work harder than normal and causing chest pain, dizziness and fatigue. Outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration are set to meet July 29 to evaluate whether Pfizer’s study of Revatio is sufficient to determine its effectiveness in children, the agency said today.

The FDA in 2001 asked Pfizer, the world’s biggest drugmaker, to study the medicine in children with the lung disorder. If the New York-based company meets the FDA study requirements, the drug would get an extra six months on the market without generic competition. Patents on the drug, with 2009 sales of $1.89 billion as Viagra and $450 million as Revatio, are expected to expire in 2012. Some doctors are already using the treatment in kids with the lung condition.

“It’s a good option in pediatric patients because it is well-tolerated, in that it doesn’t have as many side effects as some of the other options,” said Chad Knoderer, a pediatric clinical pharmacist at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, who has used Viagra in kids with the disorder.

FDA Request

Sildenafil, the chemical name for both Viagra and Revatio, blocks an enzyme found in the lungs and penis that regulates blood flow. Pfizer is considering whether to seek approval for Revatio, a lower-dose form of sildenafil, in children, said Colin Ewen, an executive director at the company, in a July 23 telephone interview.

Pfizer shares rose 25 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $15.27 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

The FDA is asking its panel of advisers to decide what is the best measurement to use in determining if the drug is effective in children with pulmonary hypertension.

In adults, researchers typically use an exercise test to determine if the drug is having a benefit. Because that test was difficult to perform in young children, Pfizer has asked the FDA to consider an alternative test that measures blood flow by inserting a catheter through the arteries.

In Pfizer’s study of 234 children, the drug failed to show a benefit when the children’s exercise ability was measured. However, it did show a significant benefit when researchers used an alternative measure of blood flow.

DOH orients qualified nurses for RN HEALS Project

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:45:00 +0000

source: by R.G. Cadavos

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, Feb 11 (PIA) – The Department of Health (DOH) in close coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) conducted a Pre-Deployment Orientation for Nurses on RN Heals Project starting today, February 11 until tomorrow, February 12, 2011.

DOH representative based here, Dr. Feliciano John Matibag, disclosed that Southern Leyte was allotted at least 77 registered nurses for the nationwide project. These qualified nurses will be distributed to 11 municipalities including Maasin City throughout the province.

Dr. Matibag named the municipalities as : Macrohon, Limasawa, Padre Burgos, Malitbog, Liloan, San Francisco, San Ricardo, Saint Bernard, Hinunangan, Silago and in Maasin City. There will be 7 nurses to be assigned in each area, Matibag added.

RN HEALS, an acronym of Registered Nurses for Health Enhancement And Local Service which is expected to address the shortage of skilled and experienced nurses in 1,221 rural and unserved or underserved communities for at least one year will prioritize those newly graduate nurses with license and who have no fixed income yet, Matibag, in a casual interview with PIA said.

While working, the nurses will be receiving an allowance of P8, 000 per month coming from the DOH funds while the local government unit (LGU) where they are assigned is encouraged to provide an additional allowance worth P2, 000 and will supervise these nurses and ensure their safety and security. Likewise, other arrangements will depend on the Memorandum of Agreement signed between the DOH and the municipality concerned, it was learned.

The agreement also stated that the nurses will be working 6 months as Public Health Nurse and 6 months at the district hospital assigned to them, Matibag further revealed

The two-day orientation held at the Casa Ampil function Room, here at the city proper will tackle on the background of the RN Heals project of the government, the Aquino Health Agenda-Universal Health Care and Philhealth Care Delivery System – National Objectives for Health to be discussed by Dr. Matibag.

More topics to be discussed are the following: Pantawid Pampamilya Compliance Verification’, Recapitulation training guide for Public Health and Hospital; Code of Discipline, among other administrative concerns regarding health employment.

Other speakers during the orientation include DOLE-Southern Leyte Provincial Head Fe Norma Valuis and Provincial Health officer Dr. Noel Lumen, Head of the Salvacion Oppus Yñiguez Memorial Provincial Hospital (SOYMPH) Technical Department.

It was learned that DOH expects that these nurses will be part of the pool of competent nurses for later employment or absorption in health facilities, hence addressing the inadequate supply of skilled nurses and increasing the nurses’ employment rate.

Phl to employ 10,000 unemployed nurses to depressed areas: official

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:42:00 +0000

source:(philstar.com)

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Health Department has embarked on an aggressive program that will make essential health services available to all Filipinos especially those in geographically isolated and depressed areas, and at the same time address the problem on the glut of nurses, a senior government official said today.

The program is called the Registered Nurses for Health Enhancement and Local Service (RN HEALS), Health Secretary Enrique Ona said in a news briefing in the Malacanang presidential palace, adding "This effort in essence will enhance our health services with regards to the number of nurses that we have today."

The program will train and deploy 10,000 unemployed nurses in communities to be identified by the Department of Health (DOH) in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare & Development (DSWD), said Ona. It is expected to address the shortage of skilled and experienced nurses in 1,221 rural and unserved or underserved communities for one year, he added.

The health program will also address the government's efforts to fulfil its United Nations Millennium Development Goals specifically in reducing maternal mortality from the present statistics of 162 in every 100,000 live births to the country's target of 52 per 100,000 live births by 2015, by bringing in health professionals in rural areas and improving birthing facilities.

The Philippines currently has an excess of some 120,000 nurses, according to Ona.
The program needs around 19.5 million U.S. dollars a year and Ona said President Benigno Aquino III has thrown his support by including the said amount in the General Appropriations Act.

Some 60,000 nurses applied for the program, Ona said, adding only 10,000 will be hired for the program due to budgetary constraints.

Reform employment program for nurses

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 09:18:00 +0000

THE PARTIDO ng Manggagawa welcomes but calls for the reform of RN HEALS, the employment program for nurses. Public employment programs are always a step in the right direction. Creating jobs for unemployed nurses and providing health care to rural areas are great initiatives. But RN HEALS leaves much to be desired because it fosters cheap labor even as it accommodates less than 10 percent of the estimated number of unemployed registered nurses.

Also the Department of Labor and Employment should inspect hospitals for violations of labor standards, including the charging of so-called on-the-job-training (OJT) fees on registered nurses. The exploitative practice of charging fees from trainee-nurses must end. The labor department must do its job of enforcing the Labor Code. Instead of hospital owners challenging young nurses to file complaints, it should inspect health care facilities and investigate the way they satisfy their labor requirements.

Paying nurses to be deployed in rural areas P8,000 in allowance is well below the Salary Grade 15 stipulated by law for entry-level public sector nurses. Hazard pay, night differential and other allowances are also mandated for public sector nurses but the DOLE is silent whether RN HEALS provides for such mandatory benefits.

In Tunisia, a popular uprising was sparked by the desperate suicide of a 26-year-old unemployed university graduate. That same hopelessness haunts the lives of more than a hundred thousand registered nurses who are unemployed, and some 20,000 to 40,000 more will be added to their ranks when the next batch of nursing students graduates in April. The problem of nurses who are unemployed, underemployed are abused is reaching crisis proportions and has resulted in various forms of abuses like the OJT fees. Meanwhile nurses who are employed are overworked but miserably underpaid.

New nurses should be treated as probationary employees who must be paid the legally mandated entry-level wages and benefits, plus the opportunity to become regular after six months of temporary status. It is a triple whammy on young nurses to pay tuition fees while studying, then while working as a “trainee,” to be denied a wage or charged an exorbitant fee.

—RENATO MAGTUBO,
chair,
Partido ng Manggagawa,
114 Legaspi St., Project 4,
Quezon City

Private nurses

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 09:16:00 +0000

source: APDNAP

THERE WAS sadness the other Sunday when my mother’s two private nurses, Rose Cabibihan and Marie Ferrer, finished their shifts and said goodbye. After providing special nursing caring for “Lola” (my mother) for more than two months, they were moving on to other patients who needed them even more.

Some of our family friends guessed the identity of the “close relative” I’ve been writing about in relation to stroke and other problems of the elderly. My mother had a hemorrhagic stroke (a stroke involving bleeding in the brain) late in October, which kept her in the hospital for a month, the first week in intensive care. Before moving her out of the ICU into a regular room, the doctors required us to get private nurses because her situation remained critical. That was how I discovered the world of private nursing and the very complicated situations around caring for the elderly.

Our hospital recommended that we contact the Association of Private Duty Nurses Association of the Philippines (APDNAP) which is under the Philippine Nurses Association. The APDNAP was quick to make the arrangements since they have pools of private nurses in several hospitals.

The private nurses stayed with my mother all through her confinement, and continued with us after we came home. Eventually, we knew we could transition to a midwife, and for a week, Rose and Marie trained a midwife and a new nursing graduate to take over.

Special
What do the private nurses do? When the patient is still in the hospital, the work is mainly medical. With doctors having only a few minutes each day to check the patient, the private nurses are, well, special in every sense of the word. Besides taking care of many medical tasks, they update the doctors on small but significant changes, even recommending changes in feeding and medication. My sister (who works in Canada as a speech pathologist, with a specialization in neurological disorders) and I had many discussions with the nurses and came away very impressed, seeing how the nurses blended textbook knowledge with extensive practical experiences.

When we shifted to home care, the work involved more variety. There were the usual medical procedures but more time went into day-to-day activities, including preparing food, exercise, reading—even going to Mass and praying. When our nurses came up with a list of important phone numbers for the new team, it included my mother’s hairdresser.

The nurses are fairly expensive, their monthly pay even higher than what I get as a UP professor. There are nurses and midwives who will work at lower rates than APDNAP’s and I am sure some are well qualified, but you have to be very careful. As we began the transition from our private nurses and I had to interview some applicants, I was shocked with the variations in quality. There were applicants who had never even worked in a hospital. In one case, the applicant could not even show me a diploma and license and yet had the names of several patients she had cared for.

Underpaid
In retrospect, the APDNAP nurses’ pay might even be considered low, relative to what they do. I feel that for stroke patients they are indispensable. Strokes are treacherous, often striking at night or early in the morning, when we are least prepared. Private nurses are there to monitor fluctuations in blood pressure, changes in the way the patient is breathing, even sleeping. Transient strokes can cause changes in the patient’s speech or body movement, all often undetectable signs unless someone is around and really knows the patient.

Ironically, private nurses become even more important for mobile, rather than bedridden, patients. The elderly often forget their limitations, and might insist on getting out of bed and walking on their own, even if they’re not ready yet. I had an aunt who recently had a stroke, and the first day she got home after the hospital confinement, she fell and had a hip fracture, landing her back in the hospital.

Another way of looking at all this is to anticipate what could happen if we let our guard down on care for the elderly. A new stroke, or complications like pneumonia, or a fall and a hip fracture, could lead to a stint in the hospital, the cost of each confinement easily running into P1 million.

Deciding on special care is something family members will have to think through, evaluating the elderly relative’s needs, as well as the family’s resources. In our case, there was no way we could do without additional caregiving, given that my father is also quite old and I’m the only child here in the Philippines with heavy work responsibilities and young children to raise. Even with changes in work routines and a moratorium on consultancies, and the private nurses, I have never felt I had a tighter schedule than I do now. The bottom line is that even with special care, relatives still need to pitch in their time, their presence.

Whether you get nurses, midwives, caregivers or tap a trusted household helper, be sure they can relate to the very special needs of the elderly, especially those who have Alzheimer’s or one of the other dementias. I’ve heard horror stories of the elderly ending up being abused—physically, verbally or mentally—by their caregivers.

Moral obligation
I am all too aware that the costs of private nursing care are beyond reach for most Filipino households and wish we had more options. But if families can afford the costs, I strongly feel they are morally obligated to go for the extra professional care. In many households, even if they have the financial resources for special care, the temptation is to ask one of the relatives, usually a woman, to quit working and go full-time caring for the elderly relative. I think it’s unfair to force someone, even a relative, to make such sacrifices and to take the risks that come with having someone who is not professionally trained to handle the medical challenges in geriatrics.

Filipino-style, our nurses became part of the family, comforting us during the times when we weren’t sure if my mother would make it, assuring us that some changes were not as critical as we thought them to be, and sharing in the joys and excitement of significant improvements in my mother’s conditions. Many times, especially when there were problems, they would stay an hour or two beyond their shift.

Filipino-style again, Rose and Marie have kept in touch, and have emphasized that they’re “on call,” ready to advise the new team if needed. To them, and to all the other private nurses, midwives and caretakers in the Philippines—many of them choosing to stay in the Philippines even when offered high-paying jobs abroad—maraming, maraming salamat.

CNU to hold first int’l nursing confab

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 09:11:00 +0000

NURSE researchers internationally and locally have contributed much for the development.

Evidence based practices have gained recognition in both the clinical and academic practice.

With these scholarly outputs of professional nurses, the first Cebu international nursing conference with the theme “Nurses Creating a Positive Environment for Learning and Practice” is organized by the Cebu Normal University.

This conference aims to provide opportunities of sharing research works, developing professional networks and learning from colleagues.

It shall serve as a venue for nurses to disseminate and utilize research findings with fellow nurses, thereby attaining excellence and quality in practice.

The conference will be held on April 26 and 27 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

What's the difference between an MSN and a MAN?

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 11:44:00 +0000

Master's degree programs in nursing in the US are mostly about specialization. Majority of MSN's in US universities are actually training programs for two different groups of specialization: advanced practice nursing, and non-advanced practice nursing. Advanced practice nursing is an umbrella term used by Boards of Nursing in the US for Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Certified Nurse Midwives, and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists. Specific MSN programs are aimed at training nurses for these roles.

On the other hand, there are also MSN programs that train nurses in non-advanced practice nursing fields such as nursing education, administration, informatics, and newer Clinical Nurse Leader role.

That being said, I doubt if a fresh hire from the Philippines, even with an MSN degree, will have enough credibility and background experience to function in the roles I have described above in the US health care setting. I just don't see a US employer giving credit to a Filipino nurse with an MSN degree especially when US health care facilities are hiring foreign nurses in entry-level RN positions only.

POSTED BY juan de la cruz on allnurses.com

i think MAN is more applicable for those who want to be clinical instructors or professors... MSN i think is more useful in a hospital setting... there are so many schools now that offer MAN.. UERM in sta mesa offers MSN and you can choose if you want the thesis or non thesis tract...

POSTED by ronaldtanael on allnurses.com

HIV and AIDS cases in Philippines exceed 6,000

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 10:01:00 +0000

source: By Jerome Aning
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Health recorded 174 new HIV cases in December 2010, bringing the total number of infections for the entire 2010 to 1,591, the highest since the agency began gathering monthly data on the dreaded disease way back in 1984.

Statistics from the DOH's Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry Report released on Thursday showed that HIV/AIDS cases totaled 6,016 from 1984 to 2010. It was the first time that the infections breached the 6,000 mark.

DOH data show that of the 6,016 cases monitored since 1984, about 833 were reported to have developed into full-blown AIDS and 315 were reported to have died of AIDS.

Before December's 174 new cases, the highest tally was recorded in April 2010, when 154 new cases were reported.
Ironically, the government observes AIDS Awareness Month every December.

HIV stands for the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, a condition in which the body’s immune systems are severely undermined, which could lead to full-blown AIDS and then death. A cure for AIDS has yet to be found although there are drugs that can delay the HIV infection from becoming full-blown AIDS.

Of the 174 new cases in December, three were reported to have progressed to full-blown AIDS cases bringing the total number of new AIDS cases for the entire 2010 to 20.

In December, about 97 percent of the cases came from sexual contact, with 168 cases. The other five new cases were transmitted through injecting drug use while the last one did not identify the mode of transmission.

Also, 14 of the new HIV cases were found to be male overseas Filipino workers, all of whom acquired the virus through sexual contact.

Of the 1,591 cases for 2010, about 95 percent were males aged 19 to 41 years old who got infected through sexual contact.

Phl seeks easing of Japan nurse hiring requirements

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 10:31:00 +0000

source:
By Elisa Osorio (The Philippine Star)

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines will be asking for the relaxation of some of the entry requirements of Filipino nurses to Japan during the renegotiation of the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) scheduled this year.

Under the current JPEPA rules, only one Filipino nurse was able to go to Japan.

“Something has to be done about this. Qualifications must be relaxed,” a ranking government official said in an interview.

Other issues that may be raised are the reduction on sugar tariff and the increased access of the country’s agricultural products such as chicken to Tokyo.

The official said the mandated renegotiations of the JPEPA have not yet started. Under the JPEPA, there must be a renegotiation five years after the agreement was signed.

However, in spite of the pressure to renegotiate, the official said it may be beneficial for the country to wait because there are also issues that the Philippine government is avoiding. For instance, the official said that the Japanese would like to bring down the tariff of 3,000 cc vehicles and below.

The official said that although the JPEPA is clear that the two governments must discuss the tariff on 3,000 cc vehicles, the agreement does not specifically say when the negotiations should be. “There is no deadline for this (negotiations on 3,000 cc vehicles),” the official said.

“The Philippines is avoiding this because we do not want to lower the tariff because it will be bad for our local manufacturers,” the official said.

Currently, the vehicles produced here are 3,000 cc and below. Once the tariff is lowered or even removed, imported counterparts may be cheaper thus killing the local auto manufacturing industry.

“We cannot afford to allow all small cars to enter without tariff,” the official said.

In an earlier interview, Assistant Trade Secretary and Director of the Bureau of International Trade Relation Ramon Vicente Kabigting said the Philippines is asking for some help from the Asian Development Bank to come up with a study on JPEPA so that the government could be guided during the review.

Kabigting explained that the five-year prescriptive review period started in September 2006 when then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and then Japan Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi signed in Helsinki, Finland the agreement and not in December 2008 when JPEPA became effective following the ratification of the Philippine Senate.

However, he cleared that the review will not lead to the Philippines’ abrogation of the treaty. He said there may be some people who would like to modify the deal.

Unnursed dream

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 00:33:00 +0000

source:Philippine Daily Inquirer

FOR DECADES, it signified a new version of the Filipino dream. It was not becoming a lawyer or a doctor that parents wished for their children: it was becoming a nurse. And thus nursing became the most popular course in colleges, with one nursing school after another sprouting to meet the boom. Perhaps because of our natural gift for hospitality and our affection for the young and the elderly, Filipinos simply made for excellent nurses.

Generations of Filipinos now have grown up either aspiring to become nurses or subsidized by nurses most likely working abroad. The idea of finding gainful employment in other countries—particularly in wealthy and yet underserved countries like the United States, Canada and Japan—was a potent carrot for these dreamers.

But there is a dark side to their bright ambition. As more and more Filipinos sought to become nurses, substandard nursing schools became more common. Then the cheating and leaks in board exams. There was talk of payoffs and schools being involved. Nursing schools came under more and more critical scrutiny, but nursing students kept coming—more fresh meat for the bedside grinder.

The last few years have seen even worse: the exploitation of new nurses by hospitals.

To finish their studies, nursing students must pass through formidable hoops. And successfully hurdling the board exams—something aspiring nurses work their entire college life to achieve—is not all there is to it. Before they graduate, they need to spend time working in a real hospital, where they would hopefully gain some valuable practical, real-world experience. This requirement is called “internship” or “residency.”

But now, even board passers, newly registered nurses, are asked to pay in order to be allowed to serve as “volunteer” nurses in hospitals. Hard put to find hospital employment because of an “oversupply” of nurses in the Philippines (now numbering around 160,000 unemployed and underemployed), they need to “volunteer” to gain actual work experience that may be strictly required for regular local or overseas employment. This is clearly exploitation of the worst kind.

A bill, filed in 2009 by Laguna Rep. Edgar San Luis, sought to penalize hospitals that force nursing students to pay them for internship. Hospitals found to be milking the students are supposed to be fined hundreds of thousands of pesos, and their guilty administrators could go to jail for a year. Similarly sought to be sanctioned were hospitals that would force interns to essentially work for free. The bill required hospitals to pay interns the minimum wage as well as to refund those nurses who had been forced to pay for residency. The present Congress should pass a law to this effect.

Such charges—and “volunteerism-for-a-fee” is no different, if not worse—are unneeded booby-traps for a profession already suffering from its own share of reality: as more and more nurses graduate, fewer jobs are being made available to them. And in a most painful twist, the foreign countries that used to welcome Filipino nurses—who often filled a need which those countries’ populations could not or would not meet—have narrowed their entry doors. The best example is Japan. Japanese authorities now require that Filipino nurses pass a very challenging examination that includes a need to master the Japanese language.

How far this particular version of the Filipino dream has fallen! Unable to find proper employment as nurses, many of the graduates have turned to other jobs like caregivers, and even to that all-prevalent shiny new aspiration, the call center agent.

But Filipino nurses represent a brave and selfless portion of the diaspora of our young and elders. Through devotion and competence, these nurses have made being Filipino a good thing around the world. It is time for the hospitals, the nursing schools and our government to reaffirm the nobility of the Filipino nurses who have continued to be role models, remembering to dispense care as best they can, even in a world that has grown ever smaller and dimmer for them.

DZIQ: Nurses warned vs bogus jobs in UK

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 10:25:00 +0000

source:
By Katherine Evangelista

INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) on Monday warned nurses who want to work in the United Kingdom of a modus operandi of some agencies guaranteeing scholarships.

Citing Police Superintendent Bernard Yang, chief of the investigation unit of the Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment, Radyo Inquirer reported that some agencies offering visa processing assistance to the UK also offer scholarships and job opportunities to Filipino nurses.

Agencies usually require P200,000 to P300,000 placement fees from their recruits.

However, upon checking with the British embassy, they found that these offers were bogus and were not recognized by the UK Border Agency.

Last year, the CIDG has closed down 16 agencies operating similar modus operandi, Radyo Inquirer said.

Glut of Filipino nurses leads to exploitation

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:28:00 +0000

source:abs-cbnnews.com

MANILA, Philippines - A glut of registered nurses and nursing graduates in the country has led to their exploitation by some hospitals, which require them to pay to be allowed to do “volunteer work.”

At a hearing of the Senate health and labor committees, nursing organizations confirmed new nurses are forced to resort to “volunteerism-for-a-fee” just so they could rack up experience needed for future employment here or abroad.

Dr. Teresita Barcelo, Philippine Nursing Association president, said some hospitals have taken to calling the practice “training programs.”

“These hospitals have found a way of going around this volunteerism-for-a-fee, kasi naman unethical talaga,” she said.

However, Barcelo also admitted no one wants to file a formal complaint or testify against unscrupulous hospitals or health care facilities since the volunteer nurse also benefits by way of getting an employment certificate.

Alvin Dakis of the Association of Young Nurse Leaders and Advocates International said: “We keep telling our nurses to stop doing this because it’s illegal.”

Philippine Hospitals Association (PHA) vice president Dr. Hermogenes Jarin said it was the first time he had heard of the practice of “volunteerism-for-a-fee." He agreed it should not be condoned.

However, he confirmed that some PHA members indeed charge fees for training programs for new nurses, a practice allowed by both the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Professional Regulation Commission.

“I’m not denying that some members are making money (on the training programs) but not all are rotten apples,” Jarin said.

“Nobody is twisting anybody’s arm to participate in these programs.”

Upon the suggestion of Sen. Antonio Trillanes, who was attending his first legislative hearing since being released, Jarin promised to call on PHA members to discontinue the practice of collecting fees from new nurses in exchange for short-term work.

Health committee chair Sen. Pia Cayetano said CHED and the Department of Health should also work closely on the guidelines for these training programs.

Sen. Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. said the problem of nurses’ exploitation boils down to oversupply.

“Many are willing victims. Alam nila they are being exploited but they don’t have other options kaya sige lang,” Marcos said. “We should really look very hard on the proposal for a moratorium on (producing) more nurses.”

Health care sector stakeholders said an additional 40,000 new nurses are expected this year, in addition to the more than 100,000 nurses who are “running around without a job.”

10,000 nurse, kailangan ng DOH at DSWD para sa RN HEALS Program

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:02:00 +0000

10,000 nurse, kailangan ng DOH at DSWD para sa RN HEALS Program

source: dzmm.com.ph

Nangangailangan ang Department of Health (DOH) at Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) ng 10,000 registered nurse para maging bahagi ng programang Registered Nurse for Health Enhancement and Local Service (RN HEALS).

Sinabi ni Health Secretary Enrique Ona na ilalagay ang mga kwalipikadong aplikante sa iba't ibang tinukoy na mahigit 1,000 priority areas o mga mahihirap na lugar sa bansa para doon magbigay ng serbisyong medikal.

Magsisimula aniya ang recruitment para sa naturang programa sa Biyernes, Enero 17 hanggang Pebrero 4 at maaaring mag-apply online sa pamamagitan ng website na dole.gov.ph kung saan din makikita ang mga mapipiling aplikante simula naman sa Pebrero 7.

Tatanggap aniya ang mga volunteer nurse ng P8,000 kada buwan bukod pa ang P2,000 allowance na hihilingin nilang ibigay ng mga local government unit (LGU) na kanilang pagsisilbihan.

Inihayag ni Ona na tatagal ang programa ng isang taon.

Report from Robert Mano, Radyo Patrol

How to fight colds and flu!!!

noreply@blogger.com (chardyboy) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:53:00 +0000

How to fight colds and flu!!!

source: NurseReview.Org

The much-dreaded cold and flu season is upon us. And if you’re like me, there isn’t any spare time built into the schedule to be sick. So how can I bolster my defenses against the germs lurking in the common areas in my office, the mall where I do my holiday shopping and the rest stops I encounter in my holiday travels?

Have you also heard about antibiotic resistance? If you are interested in learning about pharmacology inline with antibiotics, checkout this article.
I took a look at the research Emily Sohn and Rachel Johnson, Ph.D., M.P.H., have written about for EatingWell and pulled together a list of what’s worth trying—and what’s not.

Try It: Vitamin D
In a study published recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, children who took daily vitamin D supplements (1,200 IU) were 40 percent less likely to get a common flu virus than kids who took a placebo. Laboratory studies indicate that the nutrient may help immune cells identify and destroy bacteria and viruses that make us sick, says Adit Ginde, M.D., M.P.H., a public health researcher at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver.

READ MORE @ http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/how-to-fight-colds-and-flu-what-works-and-what-doesn-t-2415849