The MedPro International and MedProU teams just returned from an inspiring trip to the Philippines, where they connected with future nurses and local healthcare leaders about the transformative impact of MedPro’s Global Giving initiative on local healthcare and the education of the next generation of nursing professionals.
At the 57th Annual ANSAP Convention, proudly sponsored by MedPro International, Senior Manager of International Testing Joely Carrillo spoke to an audience of 1,100 healthcare leaders. “Nursing administrators, chief nurses, directors–ANSAP felt like the Academy Awards for nursing,” said Carrillo. “Everyone was dressed up, wearing traditional Filipiñana outfits and recognized the efforts and achievements of the Philippine healthcare community.” Carrillo highlighted MedPro’s initiatives through Global Giving while also touching on the importance of healthcare leaders prioritizing their physical, mental, and emotional health.
Class is in Session
In addition to ANSAP, over the two-week visit, Carrillo hosted five nursing seminars during which she met and spoke with mostly fourth-year nursing students as part of Global Giving’s educational campaign. “It was an amazing experience,” said Carrillo. Her lectures covered physical, emotional, and behavioral strategies for test taking. “Every test taker is going to deal with some sort of anxiety, but the right tools can help them manage that anxiety and greatly improve their performance.”
Nursing students also listened to recorded lectures from MedProU’s web-based series, but the students weren’t the only ones getting an education. Carrillo gained valuable insight into the challenges these students face, particularly regarding limited internet access, affecting their ability to use some learning models. “Internet access is huge,” said Carrillo. “So much of education and testing requires this accessibility. It’s really important to be able to work around that if needed, but this visit really helped me to understand how Global Giving can find alternative ways to connect, interact, and help spread useful knowledge to future nurses. Education is extremely important because it opens so many doors. This could be life-changing for many of them.”
Carrillo also visited Perpetual Help Medical Center in Las Piñas, with whom MedPro has partnered up for Global Giving events and toured some of the nursing units to assess the similarities and differences in practice, such as a reliance on paper charting instead of digital. “The whole experience gave us a good perspective on both their current areas of success and opportunities for improvement.”
The Sky is the Limit
Global Giving is an opportunity for MedPro International to have a larger and more far-reaching impact on healthcare beyond staffing, and it’s an opportunity for nursing students to reach their career goals.
The trip was especially meaningful to Carrillo, who was born in the Philippines and had an opportunity to visit her 94-year-old grandmother. “I am hopeful that the students I connected with were able to see some of themselves in me. There are endless opportunities that a nursing career offers and the sky really is the limit. While I know the Global Giving initiative will help to impact the futures of many, I am humbled and thankful because it impacted me, too. I am a proud Filipina-American; The Philippines is also my home, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what more we can do in the future.” Carrillo anticipates returning to the Philippines to provide students with more instruction in early 2025.