UP Manila, Tesda offer tech courses for medical support staff
The University of the Philippines Manila (UPM) is working with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) in developing certificate programs for senior high school graduates that will support courses offered by health sciences schools.
Among the academic modules UPM and Tesda are planning to create are new Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) courses on autopsy technical support, advanced cadaver care for human anatomy courses, and technical support for simulation-based health sciences education.
More technicians needed
“There is a growing need for trained technicians in autopsy, embalming for academic purposes, and simulation-based education as medical colleges in the country continue to increase,” UPM said in a statement.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) recently approved 22 new medical schools, following Republic Act No. 11509, or the Doktor Para sa Bayan Act, which was enacted in 2020.
According to UPM Chancellor Michael Tee, support staff are needed to ensure proper handling and preservation of the cadavers in anatomy laboratories in schools.
At the same time, simulation-based education technicians are needed to ensure the proper functioning of equipment and simulation mannequins in the clinical simulation laboratories.
These courses are for students who have finished K-12 education and other individuals who are interested in entering the highly competitive field of academic technical support here and abroad.
Two-year course
The first year of training will include anatomy subjects while the second year of the course will include simulation laboratory maintenance.
Tee said during a recent meeting with officials from Tesda and the Department of Health (DOH) that UPM will define the learning outcomes for the courses while Tesda will provide the training and certification for graduates of the courses.
According to Redilyn Agub, assistant executive director of Tesda’s Competency Standards Development Division, they will look into the possibility of turning the said courses into a ladderized diploma course.
CHEd sent UPM’s anatomy department chief Dr. Rafael Bundoc and simulation-based professor Dr. Maria Julieta Germar to Australia’s Adelaide University to undergo training.
Bundoc and Germar are leading the development and refinement of the training modules for the upcoming courses.
“Through the technical support that our new TVET graduates, we will have an improvement in the way we teach medicine, nursing and other health-related courses,” Tee said.
According to Tesda Director General Suharto Mangudadatu said the new TVET courses aimed at fulfilling current local and international demands of the healthcare industry and tackle its future challenges.
