“YOU CAN compete with your counterparts in the ASEAN countries if the standards of your education and practice are high and if you are willing to engage in a lifetime learning process.

This was the challenge posed by Dr. Carmelo C. Cunanan, member of the CHED Technical Panel on Physical Therapy Education to the 248 graduates of the three degree programs offered at CHS during their clinical graduation, March 31.

Cunanan, who served as guest speaker, said the MMSU graduates could only do so if the university and the graduates would work together and become pro-active partners in the health profession.

“You should not stop learning after graduation, because the practice of the health profession has drastically changed over the past few years,” he said adding that the solution for professional growth is the “regular update of our competencies through formal and informal continuing professional activities.”

Speaking on the educational qualifications and professional competencies of graduates, Cunanan said the DOLE, PRC, CHED, and TESDA have already worked to address the issues and concerns of job mismatch and have identified the standards of education of courses leading to the health industry sector worldwide.

According to him, these agencies have already drafted the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF), a national policy describing the levels of educational qualifications, and have laid down the standards for qualification outcomes. The PQF sets the standards of knowledge, skills, and values acquired by Filipino learners and workers to align with international qualifications and standards.

“This way, the skills acquired by you as health professionals will be recognized and would be comparable to international standards,” Cunanan said. He added that the PQF encourages lifelong learning that allows the person to build up his qualifications. This way, he said, the professional’s needs and interests develop and change over a period.

What is the implication of this to the graduates? According to him, graduates must compete with their professional counterparts in the ASEAN region and eventually with those around the world.

“With the allowed mobility of professionals, you must find work in other ASEAN countries, and those from the other countries must also find jobs here,” he said.

“But I think this is your advantage because you are more caring and compassionate towards your patients compared to your ASEAN counterparts – an attribute you are known worldwide,” he beamed.

Cunanan said the educational qualifications of Filipino health workers should also be at par with regional and global standards if they want to compete with the rest of the world. This is the reason graduates must actively engage in lifelong learning activities that allow them to effectively upgrade their competencies in various practice settings of their respective professions. These include self-learning strategies and opportunities which involve formal, informal, and non-formal continuing professional development activities.

“Your BS degree is at Level 6 of the PQF and you must go up the ladder by having a master’s or doctor’s degrees,” he said.

Meanwhile, a recent policy paper from the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that the world faces growth population and more complex health issues. Also, there exists a shortage of health care professionals in spite of the advancement of specializations within the allied health fields.

“That is why health professionals streaming into the workforce must be collaborative practice-ready, which means that they should be well-equipped to work with other health professionals and non-professionals that would result in a more established health care system that provides health services that would essentially lead to improved health outcomes,” he said.