The Teresita L. Jalandoni Provincial Hospital (TLJPH) in Negros Occidental will host the training of physicians in specialty areas, as a partner of the Department of Health’s (DOH) Medical Residency Rotation Strategy (MRRS).

The partnership was formalized during the signing of a memorandum of agreement between Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. and Health Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo in rites held at The Manila Hotel recently.

The TLJPH, situated in Silay City, will be the agency’s partner for the MRRS implementation together with the DOH’s Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City.

Specialty trainings will be in the areas of Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Physicians in Negros Occidental, who are fellows and diplomats, will serve as the training faculty.

The MRRS aims to create a network of provincial and local government unit (LGU) hospitals that can contribute to the DOH’s training of doctors and eventually work in these hospitals and help drive up and maintain clinical standards, the health department said.

It also seeks to provide adequate and appropriate physician complement in priority and underserved areas.
Since most of the doctor-specialists are found in highly-urbanized cities, the MRRS will allow the provision of specialized trainings to doctors to better serve the underserved areas.

Marañon, in his response during the signing rites, said the support of the provincial government to the medical profession is shown through the scholarship grants it provides to Negrense medical students.

Since 2002, the Negros Occidental Provincial Medical and Nursing Scholarship has produced a total of 23 doctors.
The scholarship currently supports 19 medical students at the University of Saint La Salle in Bacolod. (PNA)